Sweet Like Pudding
by fangirllifu
Summary: Golden cat like eyes looked up from the game he was playing, to stare at the back of the raven haired girl that was humming to herself. With a small smile, he went back to playing on his phone, occasionally glancing back at her, the smile not leaving his face.
1. Chapter 1

The Fukurodani Group Summer Training Camp has officially started, but we seem to be missing a certain horned owl ace.

The doors of the gym open loudly and someone walks in proudly smiling and yelling.

"HEY, HEY, HEY"

Everybody stops what they're doing and looks in the direction of the sound.

"Yo Bokuto, Nice to see that you've finally arrived…. and…. Uhhmm ….. Who's that?"

Kuroo was kind enough to say out loud the question on everyone's minds. Bokuto looked down at the girl in his arms, his smile growing wider and the confusion of everyone else deepening. All except one person.

"Bokuto-san…. What did you do?" Akaashi inquired walking closer to the ace.

"Nothing~" replied Bokuto still with that idiotic smile on his face.

"Is this the reason why you said you wouldn't travel with us here?" Akaashi further questioned now gradually glaring at his simpleton of an Ace and Captain.

Clearly he was right in his accusation, as the Ace was now looking anywhere but Akaashi and beginning to fidget slowly.

"You do know that she's going to be furious right?" Akaashi now fully in front of Bokuto, and his irritation growing with each passing second the ace was not answering.

Every single one of the others watching in the background could see how Bokuto was now sweating, his fidgeting getting worse by the second. But was still confused as to whom the mysterious girl in the Ace's arms was, and how Akaashi seems to know her.

His team members feeling like they should somehow lessen the suffering of their Captain and finally get answers to feed every body's curiosity, approached the two.

"Ano… Akaashi-kun just who exactly is she?" Akaashi turned around and faced his teammates. Opening his mouth, but the Ace behind him beat him to it.

"**She's Bokuto Kanna, My precious baby cousin!**" Bokuto proudly stated earning the surprised looks of everyone and an irritated look from Akaashi.

"HAH?!"

"How come we've never knew/met her before?" Inquired their members.

"That's because she's extremely shy and just generally not good around people." answered Akaashi.

"Okay, but that still doesn't explain the fact that he's panicking and you're irritated by all this." Kuroo now questioned, finally getting over the shock of finding out that the girl Bokuto was carrying was his cousin.

With a sigh Akaashi began to explain. "You see Bokuto-san most probably took her here without her knowledge. Him panicking is because once she wakes up, he's bound to deal with the consequences. I'm irritated because he was stupid enough to bring her, and totally forgot about how she would feel about all this."

Looking at Bokuto he quickly added "And just so we're clear Bokuto-san, I am not helping you with this."

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad, right?" Konoha dryly chuckled.

Everyone looked at Bokuto again and snickered as they could see the colors on his face starting to drain.

"_Just how scary can this sleeping girl be to make the Ace and Captain of Fukurodani be in this state"_, they all thought.

"Anyways, why don't you lie her down inside so we can officially start practice." Nekomata-sensei said with his closed eye smile.

As Bokuto followed his managers to the girl's sleeping quarters, the others had been ushered by their team's respective coaches to warm up. Akaashi followed him with his eyes, shaking his head and moved towards the others to warm up.


	2. Chapter 2

Kanna slowly awoke, rubbing her eyes and taking in her surroundings. Confused and wondering how she was laying on a futon inside a classroom, when the last thing she remembered was falling asleep on the couch. Getting up and tidying up the futon, she wandered around the grounds, slowly coming to the conclusion that her mysterious teleportation to this unknown school, had something to do with her irritating volleyball idiot of a cousin.

With a sigh she found herself outside beneath a hill on her left, and what she assumes to be the gym ,with all the sounds and voices coming from it, on her right. She was about to walk past the gym and somehow find her way home, when all of a sudden someone yelled.

"BOKUTO-SAN!" Startled she stopped, looked to her left and found a group of boys running down the hill and an orange haired boy jumping towards her. She was beginning to panic when a voice came from her right this time.

"AH! KA—" Koutaro didn't even get to finish calling out to his cousin, when she glanced at him for a second and suddenly took off. Startled and confused for a minute he just stood there, until he collected himself and dashed off after his cousin. The others looking at the place both Bokutos once stood, confused as to what was happening.

Akaashi sighed "_Here we go"_

After a few minutes, the older Bokuto came strolling through the doors with the younger Bokuto on his shoulders screaming and struggling.

"LET ME GO. PUT ME DOWN BAKATARO!" Kanna yelled while she squirmed, kicked and repeatedly slammed her fists on her cousin's back.

Meanwhile the idiot continued to walk carrying her like a sack of potatoes with that idiotic smile still on his face.

"_How often has this happened that he's not even fazed with her struggling at all?"_ They all thought at the same time.

"Ugh, huhuh Keijjiii" Finally fed up with the uncomfortable position she was in, Kanna called for help nearly sobbing.

"Bokuto-san. Please put Kanna-san down, that position is making her uncomfortable." Akaashi sighed and helped the girl to her foot.

"Ha. Now." Kanna sighed and charged at her cousin, but was held back by Akaashi.

"Let go of me Keiji, I need to teach this dumbass a lesson." Kanna kept demanding but Akaashi didn't let go. Koutaro was now hiding behind his teammates, as the glare his cousin was sending his way terrified him to the bone.

"Let go. I'm gonna kill him. How dare he drag me here. I don't even know where I am." Kanna wasn't yelling, but the venom that dripped from her words made everybody in the room gulp and take a step back.

Well except Akaashi, cause he still had to keep her from murdering his Captain, though he would've wanted to let her do as she pleases, he still had a duty as the teams' Vice Captain. Instead he brought her back down to reality knowing that it'll make her calm down at least.

"Kanna-san." Akaashi calmly called her. Kanna looked at Akaashi, blinked and suddenly realized that a lot of people were in the gym and they were all looking at her. Anger towards her dumbass cousin long forgotten as her face flushed and she hid behind Akaashi letting out a small squeak.

Surprised with the sudden change, nobody said anything and just kept staring wide-eyed at the blushing girl.

"_She's sooo adorable." _

"_How can someone be so cute?!" _

"_Well I wasn't expecting that." _Several of them thought to themselves.

Hinata being Hinata, was the first to break the silence bouncing up to Fukurodani's Setter and the girl hiding behind him.

"I'm Hinata Shouyo, Karasuno 1st Year Middle Blocker. You are?" Hinata said and looked at poor terrified Kanna with sparkling eyes.

Said girl just hid herself more behind Akaashi's back and glanced at the floor. Akaashi nudged her as an encouragement to answer. She looked at Akaashi and with a nod of his head she looked at the ground again. They all waited with baited breath slowly thinking that she wouldn't introduce herself, when she took a deep breath.

"I—Bo….Boku…to…..Kan…na…..2nd…..Year." She barely finished in such a quiet voice you normally wouldn't be able to hear. But the gym was silent so they all heard her.

"Oh, you're a 2nd year Bokuto-san ah—uh senpai!" Hinata said embarrassed that he just assumed again and he just casually addressed a senpai.

Kanna though flinched "Ka—Kanna…is …fine."

Hinata beamed "Hai, Kanna-senpai"

This is the moment when Kanna realized that this orange bouncing fluff ball would just call her whatever he wanted, so she just gave him a nod.

The others smiled at the shy girl's adorableness, all the while thinking how someone as sweet as her could ever be related to the simpleton Ace and Captain of Fukurodani.

Feeling the girl starting to fidget again Akaashi glanced towards the managers and made eye contact with Shirofuku. With a nod, she looked at the other managers and signaled for help. A nod from the others and she proceeded with what Akaashi asked of her as a favor while the girl was still sleeping.

"Ano….. Kanna-chan?" When said girl looked at her Shirofuku continued.

"Would you like to help with setting up dinner?" She said with a smile, the other managers shooting her encouraging smiles of their own.

Feeling at ease with the warmth they were all emitting, Kanna thought it'd be better with them than in here with all these guys staring at her, so she nodded. With her nod, the manager's smiles grew and ushered Kanna to follow them to the cafeteria.

On the other side of the gym various people were talking about what just happened.

"You would've never thought such a sweet and shy girl would be so scary. If I didn't know better, I would never believe someone if they told me she had that side to her." Sugawara pointed out.

"I wouldn't believe it either, coming from such a small girl like her" Yaku agreed.

"You call her small, but aren't you just a few centimeters apart senpai?" Lev said earning him a kick from said senpai.

"Apparently, her fury over powers her shyness when it comes to her overly irritating and childish cousin." Sarukui snickered insulting his Captain at the same time, earning a laugh from the others.

Hearing the laughter Kanna glanced around, assuming nobody was now staring at her. She scanned the gym, silently giggling at the antics of that silly orange fluff ball and raven haired boy with a scowl on his face.

Just as she was taking a step outside, golden cat like eyes caught her sight before she looked away and scrambled after the managers.

"_Interesting."_

* * *

Notes:

*I decided to call Bokuto by his first name, **Koutaro**. Because technically, he and Kanna have the same last name and I just figured it'd be confusing if I didn't do so otherwise.

*I am very grateful to **_Artistpoppy _**for favoriting this story from just the first chapter.

*Also feedback is encouraged as this is my first story. I hope you continue to look forward to this story's growth.

**_Thank You_**


	3. Chapter 3

Kanna helped the other managers prepare for dinner. They were all nice and understanding. She noticed that Karasuno's 1st year manager, Yachi Hitoka was also shy at first. But then she started to animatedly talk about the other 1st years in the team, and how amazing they were with her hands going everywhere. She couldn't help but giggle alongside the other managers. Although she wasn't a manager herself, Kanna felt welcomed. It's been so long since she chatted with other people besides her cousin. While doing their respective works, she reminisced about the time she first met Akaashi Keiji.

Kanna wasn't really bothered by the fact that she didn't have friends, but it was nice to have Keiji to talk to besides Koutaro. Kanna met Keiji in 1st year, they were seatmates. He recognized her last name and asked her about it, being in the same volleyball club as the person having the same last name as her. She found out that he was a setter, and with her knowledge of her cousin, bid the guy good luck even though she didn't really know him. Akaashi thought it was just with volleyball in general, oh boy was he wrong.

Akaashi soon realized that Kanna was wishing him luck not with volleyball but with her cousin, the Ace of Fukurodani Boys Volleyball Club, Bokuto Koutaro. Every time Koutaro would come to their classroom asking (demanding) Akaashi to toss to him, Kanna was nowhere to be found. Akaashi guessed that the younger Bokuto could somehow tell if her older counterpart was near or approaching, since before the latter was even within hearing radius, she would be long gone. Having to tolerate the older Bokuto as their common ground, the two became really close and would converse on just about anything, while also ranting about their frustrations for said male.

Koutaro didn't even realize the two knew each other until the following year, where they were classmates once again. He suddenly showed up at their classroom at lunch. The two stopped talking, startled almost dropping their chopsticks at his sudden intrusion. Kanna most of all, having been too engrossed in their conversation, wasn't able to avoid the encounter. Needless to say it was a very loud lunch, with nobody but the owl like 3rd year talking nonstop about how amazing the other was, not knowing they've already known each other a year prior.

The managers calling Kanna's attention broke her out of her thoughts.

"There's only a few left needed to cook. Do you think you can handle them Kanna-chan?" Miyanoshita asked scratching her cheek with a sheepish smile.

"I'm afraid we have to return to help the teams with practice. But we'll be back once you're done so we can call everyone to eat." Shimizu added with a small smile

With a nod from Kanna, the managers smiled brightly at the girl and told her that if she ever needed help she could always just call either one of them. A wave to her and they were out the door.

Now alone at the cafeteria, Kanna began to hum to herself as she steered the pot of miso soup. Watching it boil at the same time turning off the fire on the chicken. Too into her own little world she didn't hear the door open, nor heard someone walk in and sit down on a table near the counter behind her, separating the kitchen area from the dining area.

Seeing as the miso soup has now finished cooking, she turned off the heat and turned around. Only to almost drop the ladle she was holding and nearly have a heart attack. She stared wide-eyed at the boy sitting in front of her, preoccupied with his phone. She took a deep breath trying to calm her heart down.

"_He looks like a pudding with that hair" _She thought with a silent chuckle.

Figuring that he wouldn't want to converse and also relaxing at this, she turned back around to continue the finishing touches with dinner preparations.

Golden cat like eyes looked up from the game he was playing, to stare at the back of the raven haired girl that was humming to herself. With a small smile, he went back to playing on his phone, occasionally glancing back at her, the smile not leaving his face.

Soon enough the managers came with the others and chaos ensued. Loud was an understatement, they were extremely hyper for a group of young boys who should be tired from their respective trainings. Well not all of them, and it gave Kanna some peace of mind that not everyone is like her idiot of a cousin and that orange fluff ball with endless energy. Finishing before the others, Kanna silently stalked out of the chaotic cafeteria to tuck in for the night. Not noticing the same golden cat like eyes had watched her sneak out of the cafeteria and out of his sight.

* * *

Notes:

*Miyanoshita Eri - Ubugawa High's Manager

*A little background on how Akaashi and Kanna met. I wan't sure how I was gonna insert it in the story, but I figured this would be the best rather than inserting it later and having it jumble the plot. I hope I made it well so that it flowed nicely.

*Also I would like to thank **_MoonlightFox16 _**for following this story after my previous post.

**_Thank You_**


	4. Chapter 4

It's the second day of the training camp and Kanna was still confused. She thought about it yesterday and still couldn't come up with a reason as to why Bakataro (courtesy of her irritated mind) would even bother to bring her here. And why now, when he didn't even bother her the past times he went to training camp. Kanna was determined. She would get answers even if she had to force it out of her cousin. Though she would have to confront him with all the attention, which was her biggest hurdle at the moment.

So here she was standing outside the gym, poking her head inside while hiding behind the doors. Her eyes scanned around the gym for either Bakataro or Keiji and silently hoping not to be noticed. But as misfortune sure did love her, a giant silver haired boy noticed, her much to her horror.

"Ah! The small Bokuto about the same height as Yaku-san." Said Lev she would assume, as that's what she also assumed to be the Yaku-san he mentioned, called him as he kicked the back of his legs.

Before she could retreat however, her cousin was already in front of her.

"Oya, Oya. Is there something you need Kannnnaaaa-chaaaannn~?" He said with a big smile on his dumb face, purposefully dragging out her name like usual.

Fidgeting from all the attention now focused on her, but still filled with resolve to find the answers she needed. Kanna took a deep breath and looked up at her irritatingly tall giant of a cousin.

"Um—Uh…. I was… just wondering..." Koutaro encouraged his cousin on as she was taking her time.

"Why am I here?" She finally finished looking back at him, only to slowly grow irritated with the slightly confused and blank look on his face. That is until…..

"Ah!" He suddenly exclaimed as if he just remembered something, making her jump a little. But still waiting for his answer, she kept quiet.

"Right! I brought you here 'cause I wanted you to see the Karasuno's 1st year weird combo." Koutaro proudly stated.

Kanna confused beyond belief couldn't help herself. "HAH?!"

The others couldn't blame her, they were confused as well.

_"What the hell's happening again, what kind of reason is that?"_

"Bokuto-san wha—" Akaashi started but was cut off by his Captain.

"Come one Kaaaannnnaaa. You have to see it! I mean you're amazing and I want to know what you think about it! And they have to see how amazing you are! You just need to show it!" Koutaro whined while pointing at gym randomly to further make his point clear.

"I'm…not amazing! And there's nothing to show!" Kanna said, now red faced from anger and embarrassment at being the center of attention once again.

"Pleasssssseeeee. Just once. You just have to be there on the other side of the court." He said trying to convince her.

"Kanna-san, why don't you agree? I think it'll really help us all." Akaashi said suddenly, making Koutaro beam while turning to his cousin and nodding profusely.

This just confused the others more.

"_What's up with Bokuto insisting on her seeing the Karasuno 1__st__ year weird combo?" _

"_Well if Akaashi says it's alright, maybe it is." _

"_What did he mean by it'll help us all, though?" _

"_Just what are those two planning?"_ They all thought.

A sigh escaping Kanna's lips and Koutaro knew that she was caving in to his request. Jumping in excitement he ushered her to the court and soon dragged the two 1st years of Karasuno on the other side. He then took a ball from the floor and was in position to toss it to Kageyama. Everybody else surrounded them with their curiosity picked.

"Ready?" Koutaro asked as he turned to his cousin. At her nod he tossed the ball.

Everything happened so fast. Nobody realized it was already over until they saw and heard the ball drop in the setter position. _**ON KANNA'S COURT**_.

"_WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED?!" _

They all stared at Kanna, wide-eyed with jaws to the floor as said girl straightened her back. They just witnessed a perfect receive that cut off all momentum and rotation, while sending it back perfectly to the setter. The shock was too great that not a single one of them could utter a word. Even the coaches were speechlessly staring at her.

Koutaro and Akaashi were staring at her wide-eyed but with proud smiles on their faces.

_"I knew it."_

* * *

_**Information on Kanna:**_

*She is **160.7 cm (5'3.2")**. In Haikyuu's height scale she's between Nishinoya and Hinata, based on their heights at the time of the training camp. I had to really think about this because I wanted her to be shorter than Kenma, who's height is 169.2 cm (5'6.6").

*She has **raven black hair **like Kiyoko, but slightly longer. She would have the same hair color as Koutaro if he didn't dye his hair.

*She also has slightly similar eyes as him,** round and golden** but unlike Koutaro, Kanna has** hints of brown** in her eyes.

*She calls her cousin **Koutaro **or **Kou-nii**, although once irritated calls him **Bakataro **which unfortunately happens a lot in the story.

* * *

Notes:

*I used Kageyama's line on how he described Nishinoya's perfect receive on the latter's first appearance. It just felt perfect for this one. I did not think of it, original rights go to Furudate-sensei.

*Also I disregarded the fact that in the time of this Kageyama and Hinata were not on speaking terms. I just figured they would go along with it since they were fond of both Bokutos.

*Lastly I would like to extend my thanks to **_maisenpai34_** for favoriting, and to **_Zetaern _**and **_CarlaBLa22 _**for following this story after my last post.

**_Thank You_**


	5. Chapter 5

"Tsk. If I get a bruise from this, I'm seriously considering making one appear on your face Bakataro." Kanna huffed after dusting arms. She then realized how quiet it was. As she glanced up and surveyed the gym, she took in their expressions and began to fidget.

"Uhm….Uh…Di—Did I do…..something…wrong?" Kanna asked as she avoided everyone's line of sight.

Her question seemed to break everyone out of their trance. The first ones to address her of course would be the biggest volleyball idiot trio from Karasuno.

"HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!"

"I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYONE SAVE THOSE TWO'S QUICK ATTACK THE FIRST TIME THEY SEE IT!"

"PLEASE TELL ME JUST HOW YOU WERE ABLE TO SAVE THIS DUMBASS' SPIKE?!"

They said to her all at once. A cough from their Captain and a point to Kanna, made them notice that they were a little too close, making the girl uncomfortable. His glare made them back up a bit.

Before anybody could say another word, Koutaro hopped excitedly around his cousin.

"So! So! What did you think?!" He questioned with sparkling eyes eagerly awaiting her response.

At his question everyone once again had all their attention directed towards Kanna.

"Uhmm Well….. He sucks." Kanna said as she turned towards her cousin pointing towards Hinata, who deflated at her words.

"Yeah, He has descent jumping power and I'm assuming stamina too." She added as she glanced towards Hinata's legs.

"But other than that he's pretty worthless and lacks a lot of the basics. As for him (points at Kageyama), he's talented all right, but I have a feeling he's somehow holding himself back. He must have some reason for doing so. But I'm not one to pry on someone's personal issues as they should deal with that themselves. The intended purpose of the attack sure is amazing, but they're not using it properly. Well they'll just get better from this, so I have no complains." Kanna finished with a small smile towards Koutaro. Whom she now realized was staring at her with a surprised but proud look on his face.

Realizing what she had just done, she started to lower her head when they all flooded her sight with endless questions sprouting from their mouths. Akaashi being Akaashi broke the circle formed around her and tried to calm them all down, when an even bigger problem made his way towards Kanna.

"**A GAME!**" Koutaro shouted amidst the crowd.

They all stared at him confused, all except Kanna who stared at him horrified. Oh did she know just where this was heading and she didn't like it one bit.

"**No**." Kanna stated firmly and hardened her gaze towards her cousin so he would get the message.

But Koutaro was not a simpleton for nothing. Of course he wouldn't be able to get the underlying message.

"Oh Come on Pleaaaasssseeee" He was now begging with puppy eyes, which wasn't really working for him.

"You said once and nothing about playing in a game." Kanna argued back.

"But—" Koutaro started.

"And how do you even expect me to play when I'm not dressed properly?! You didn't even bring me clothes?!" She added.

True enough to her words, she was wearing one of Koutaro's extra shirts that's too big for her and jogging pants one of the managers had as an extra. Koutaro had to admit, in his rush and excitement he totally forgot about preparing a bag of her own necessities for Kanna. Being guilty he couldn't find any words to say.

Kanna huffed. She really didn't want to play, but oh did she now regret glancing around the gym. Expectant sparkling brown eyes now stared at her with so much determination, she jumped a little. She shouldn't have looked, she really shouldn't have. Now this orange fluff ball was going to be the death of her.

"**One.**" She said with a sigh while Koutaro looked at her confused.

"Just one game and that's it." She finished making Koutaro light up. He opened his mouth to speak, but she clearly wasn't done.

"You get to pick the teams and members. But I'm playing as the Libero." Once she was finished stating her terms, Koutaro frowned.

"But—" He started but got cut off again.

"No buts, it's either this or I won't play at all." Kanna firmly stated, her tone making it clear that there was no room for argument.

The coaches realizing this would be the best they'd get out of her, well for now at least, agreed to her terms in place of the players. With everything decided, Kanna took a seat at the side to prepare herself as they discussed who would play and who would be on whose team.

After a thorough discussion, the players and teams are the following:

**Kanna's Team**

Sawamura Daichi (WS)

Konoha Akinori (WS)

Washio Tatsuki (MB)

Tsukishima Kei (MB)

Akaashi Keiji (S)

Bokuto Kanna (L)

**Koutaro's Team**

Bokuto Koutaro (WS)

Gora Masaki (WS)

Kuroo Tetsurou (MB)

Hinata Shouyo (MB)

Kageyama Tobio (S)

Nishinoya Yuu (L)

It took them some time to formulate the teams cause most of the players wanted to play against Kanna, Koutaro being the No. 1. To appease the others, Koutaro countered that they would get another chance tomorrow, to which Akaashi just shook his head. He didn't know just what his Captain had in mind, but he knew he would find some way for Kanna to agree to another game tomorrow one way or another.

Akaashi on the other hand along with a couple of his team members decided to help the younger Bokuto, Sawamura included. Tsukishima apparently got roped into playing by one of Kuroo's schemes again. Akaashi thought it was quite unfair to match up the other team's powerful servers against Kanna. First there was Shinzen High's Gora Masaki-san and then there was Karasuno's Kageyama, although the latter's control and power isn't as great as the former, it was still a weapon on its own.

Once everyone was in position they all glanced at Kanna, to their surprise she had her eyes closed. But the moment she opened them they couldn't help but shudder, even the people watching at the sides couldn't help it. The same thoughts running through their minds.

"_What terrifying concentration." _

"_It's like she's an entirely different person."_

Koutaro stared directly at Kanna with a proud smile and a challenging look in his eyes. He softened his gaze as she looked his way accepting his challenge head on.

"_That's right. This is where you belong. On the court is where you shine the brightest."_

As the whistle blew, Koutaro shared a glance with Akaashi. He would keep his promise and he was sure Akaashi would help him. Akaashi might not know the whole story, but he cared about Kanna as much as Koutaro did. Koutaro was determined.

"_I will bring her back. No, we. We would get her back."_

* * *

Notes:

*Its getting harder to edit these chapters and to figure out where I'm gonna cut it. I write continuously and somewhere mid-progress I go back and think _"huh, this is a good enough part to end this chapter"_, then it turns out the chapter's too short when I upload it here. There's a certain odd satisfaction of having the perfect ending to a chapter, but not being a cliffhanger. I hope to achieve consistent enough chapters in the future.

*I would like to thank **_vitulari_** for favoriting, and **_stars that listen_**, **_bai2468_**, **_Y_**_ukichi73__0_ and **_Friva2397 _**for following this story. I am delighted to know that there are people who enjoy my story, though it is lacking. I will try my best so please continue to look forward to it.

*Lastly I'm gonna be gone for a few weeks, as compensation I will upload two chapters.

**_Thank You_**


	6. Chapter 6

Kanna was drained and her arms hurt like hell. That one game lasted so long, she felt like she played a full set instead of just one.

"_This is the punishment I get for suddenly engaging in a high caliber play when I haven't done anything as active for some time."_

She was starting to regret getting taken in by the genuine anticipation in the eyes of an overenthusiastic orange fluff ball. As she was making her way to help with the managers, before she dropped from exhaustion, a certain charming Libero slid (yes slid) in front of her.

"Oh, my cute angel~. Why haven't I seen you in any games? Cause I'm sure I would've remembered someone as good and as beautiful as you." Nishinoya said kneeling on one knee with his right hand stretched out to her.

Kanna avoided his gaze not knowing how to respond. Thankfully Akaashi came to her rescue.

"That's because she doesn't." Akaashi answered in her behalf.

Ennoshita came behind Nishinoya and hit the back of his head, apologizing to Kanna as he dragged the Libero away from her.

"What? Why?" Several of them asked at the same time, looking between Akaashi and Kanna.

Akaashi now had a troubled look on his face, not being in the position to explain but not wanting to deal with the chaos that would ensue if not answered. He looked at the Bokuto cousins noticing Koutaro looking at Kanna with a solemn look and the later avoiding every one's line of sight, with all emotion void of her face. He sighed. He really didn't know what to do, but luck seemed to be on his side for this one.

"Guys, she must have her reasons right? And we don't really need to question it any further." Yaku said interrupting Akaashi's silent battle.

"Right, so can you guys leave them alone and start getting back to practice, you'd all be left behind even more so if you don't." Sugawara said with a slight glare. Getting the message, they all scrambled to their respective individual practices.

Feeling thankful to the two, Akaashi shot them both a thankful nod and made his way towards the Bokutos, wordlessly leading them outside and away from curious and prying eyes.

"Are you all right?" Akaashi asked Kanna once they were outside the gym.

"I'm fine, I was just gonna go and see if the managers needed any help." She answered

"Are you sure? Shouldn't you rest for a bit?" Koutaro said taking a closer look at his cousin noticing how much she was sweating and how equally red her face and arms were.

"Akaashi's right Kanna-chan. You look exhausted. You should rest for a while." Shirofuku interrupted coming closer to the trio with Shimizu and Otaki behind her.

"Yeah, we'll just wake you up when it's time to prepare for dinner." Otaki added.

"But I'm really alri—" Kanna tried to reassure them, but their glares made her stop and agree.

"_Third years are scary." _She thought with a shiver.

"Alright, alright I'll go nap for a bit. I count on you to wake me up when its time. I would really like to help reduce the work you have to do." Kanna said with a sigh. This made the others smile.

"_She really should be caring more about herself than helping us."_ They all thought as they watched said girl drag herself to the sleeping quarters.

When Kanna was out of sight, Shirofuku turned to her team's Captain and Vice Captain. She saw how the Bokuto cousins reacted to the others' questions about Kanna not playing in games. She sure was silly at times but she wasn't blind. She wanted answers and she would get them.

"So mind telling me what all of that was about?" She questioned the two, earning curious looks from the two managers behind her. Obviously they too saw and wanted to know, but wasn't in any position to ask.

At her question Akaashi looked at his Captain, Koutaro on the other hand was looking at the door Kanna walked through not too long ago with a longing expression and so much sadness in his eyes. Shirofuku was taken aback. She'd never in her 3 years as a manager and his friend, ever seen that expression on his face.

"_Whatever must have happened greatly affected them both." _She thought sadly.

"Ano….Bokuto you don't have to. If it's too much, I won't bother you any further." She said starting to feel guilty that what she said caused her friend to make such an expression.

Koutaro sighed as he turned to look at all of them. "No. You guys have to know, you were going to find out about it anyway sooner or later. But there's a favor I would like to ask of you before I explain." He paused for a few seconds before he continued

"I need your help." He finished, determination replacing the sadness once in his eyes.

Shirofuku glanced at her fellow managers then at Akaashi, a smile overtaking her features.

_"Seems like we're all in agreement."_

"What do you need us to do?" She said with an equally determined nod.

"Actually, I would need everyone's help on this one." Koutaro said with a sheepish smile while scratching his cheek. He didn't exactly have a plan as to how he was going to do this, he wasn't even sure if the others we're going to agree to helping him. He couldn't help but feel queasy about all this.

Shirofuku shot a nod towards Akaashi to go on ahead of them, as she began to push her troubling friend towards the gym. She was going to help with whatever she needed to and she was sure the others would agree, especially if it had anything to do with the younger Bokuto.

When they entered the gym, the teams were already gathered with Akaashi in the center. Apparently Akaashi asked for the others to gather for minute since they were all resting from training. As they got nearer everyone turned their attention towards them curiously.

"Bokuto-san." Akaashi said as he gestured towards the others, he gave a nod of encouragement before he went beside Shirofuku, behind Koutaro.

"What's up Bokuto?" Kuroo spoke up. He was curious at the reason behind all this, but it was starting to turn to gradually intensifying irritation with every passing second and every fidget of the Horned Owl Bastard.

"Um…I….. PLEASE HELP ME!" Koutaro suddenly shouted and bowed towards them.

Every single one of them was shocked speechless, his teammates most of all.

"_WHAT THE HECK'S HAPPENING?!" _

"_SINCE WHEN DID _**_TH__E_**_** BOKUTO** BOW TOWARDS OTHERS?!" _

"_AND HELP HIM WITH WHAT?!"_

Sawamura being the most civil and mature of the bunch, recovered first. "Help you with what exactly?" He asked.

"It's about Kanna." Koutaro said with a sigh.

* * *

Notes:

*There's no information of Shinzen's Manager Otaki Mako being in any specific year so I just decided to make her a Third Year.

*I know that majority don't read authors' notes, _I'm part of the guilty party_. But just in case someone wanted to be informed of random facts, updates or even my small opinions on this story, I will continue to put them in.

*I went back and re-read the previous chapters and found some minor mistakes. Its not really that noticeable but I changed it cause there might be people who have problems with stuff like those (_also guilty_).

*I will be back I promise. So please don't go, and please continue to enjoy and look forward to the next chapter

**_Thank You_**


	7. Chapter 7

Kenma sighed as he walked the silent halls of the school. The others were currently in the gym discussing how they would execute whatever they planned to do to help Bokuto. And here he was wondering just what a bunch of idiots could possibly come up with in such a short period of time. Lost in his thoughts he didn't realize that he'd arrived at the cafeteria.

She was there on her own again preparing dinner, seeing as the other managers were with the others. He slid the door silently and soundlessly took a seat as he had done the day before. Took out his phone but didn't play a game in it, instead he stared at her back once again deep in thought.

She was quiet like him, slightly shyer but wouldn't hesitate to speak her mind if annoyed by a certain horned owl Ace. He had noticed a lot about her in just a day and a half, though not enough in his opinion. There was just so much about her he couldn't figure out, which was why he observed her attentively in that one-set game. The way she played showed that she knew what she was doing and was good at it, even her comment on the Karasuno 1st year duo showcased the depth of her knowledge and how perceptive she was. But her movements were kind of lagging and sloppy.

Unlike most of the simpleton population in the gym, Kenma didn't bombard her with questions like the rest of them. He just stood there in the background, which was why he was able to pick up on the change in atmosphere around the Bokutos and Akaashi. It made him curious, but it wasn't like him to just ask an obviously sensitive question to a person. He was just going to forget about the whole matter altogether, when the eldest of the three willingly told them all himself.

But that's just the thing. A lot of what Bokuto said didn't make sense to Kenma. He had glanced around the gym to see if anybody noticed, but none of them did. He figured that even Bokuto respected and cared for his cousin enough to omit parts that he thought would make them ask more questions, which they definitely would. And here he thought that Bokuto was just a simpleton Ace and Captain just like everybody else.

Kenma came back to reality, as the others came flooding in the cafeteria. He looked between the Bokuto cousins and now had a new found respect for the older Bokuto. It was clear he cared about Kanna a lot, otherwise he wouldn't be doing all this for her. But with each passing second, he was starting to lose what little respect he had for the people he was training with, including his teammates, and thinking that they were in fact without a doubt, absolute fools.

When they came to pick up their trays and were served by Kanna it got worse, they were just being plain weird. He wondered for what exact reason did they even have a meeting if this would be the outcome.

"_With how strangely they're acting towards her, I wouldn't be surprised if she questioned them all right to their faces."_ He thought with a shake of his head.

After that they were whispering amongst themselves and occasionally glancing towards the manager's table, where Kanna was seated. Kenma had a great view of everything from where he sat and he was sure the managers were trying to distract her from all the stares by continuously talking to her.

"_It's obviously not working."_ He thought as he observed how stiff her back was.

Thankfully their focus on her was over came by their need for replenishments. Food seemed to take priority, as they did tire themselves out on training.

"_I never thought there would come a day wherein I'd be so thankful for their appetites. I'm feeling embarrassed and I'm not even at the center of it all. I can't even begin to imagine what she feels like right now."_ Kenma thought whilst glancing Kanna's way.

After a rather even rowdier than normal dinner for everyone, Kenma was glad to finally be out of there. A majority of them had already turned in for the night, only a few were left in the cafeteria. Sometime in the middle of the chaos, he didn't notice Kanna sneak out, being preoccupied with Kuroo's annoying ass. He only realized she was gone when he looked around after finishing his meal.

Here he was now walking the empty halls once again, enjoying the night breeze while looking out for a certain raven haired girl. It didn't occur to him that she might've already tucked in for the night like the others, no. He somehow had a weird feeling in his gut that she was still awake and out somewhere.

After walking for quite some time, Kenma noticed that the doors to the 1st gym were open. There he saw her seated at one of the open doors facing the hill and admiring the moon. He approached her, but didn't say anything. He just stayed there behind her silently observing. He thought that he went by unnoticed with how long he's been standing there, until she spoke.

"Is there something you need from me?" She started as she turned around to face him. "Kozume-san?"

"Just Kenma is fine, Kanna-san. You don't mind me calling you that right? I figured you didn't want to be called by your last name, and nope nothing in particular." Kenma answered.

Kanna observed him for a few minutes, before she nodded and turned back around returning to her previous position. A few moments of silence passed when,

"He told you didn't he." She suddenly said.

Kenma felt like she knew for sure that her cousin would do so without a doubt with the way she said those words.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he did. Actually, I think I'd be more surprised if he didn't." She said with a light chuckle.

She turned back around to face him. Kenma suddenly got nervous as she stared at him directly in the eyes, like she could see through him. After a while she broke the silence once again.

"But you think he didn't say the whole story, did you." She said not breaking eye contact.

Kenma couldn't help the slight widening of his eyes. Once again there was that tone, that tone where you felt like she was so sure of whatever she said.

_"This girl is seriously something"_

Kanna slightly smiled at his reaction. As she turned back around, she patted the space beside her gesturing for Kenma to take a seat. This confused him, he was about open his mouth to ask why, but turns out he didn't have to.

"**You want to know don't you**." She said staring at the moon as she waited for him.

Kenma didn't know if he was just that easy to read or Kanna was just good at reading him. Either way Kenma'd be damned if he didn't take this chance, so take a seat beside her he did.

* * *

Notes:

***I'm Back! It took longer than expected, but I'm here!**

*We finally have Kenma and Kanna's first official interaction in the story. **Rejoice people!**

*I tried my best to portray Kenma in this chapter and not make him too OOC, I'm not sure if it worked though. Hopefully it did. I also added/edited something on one of the previous chapters for upcoming ones to make sense.

*I would like to extend my thanks to **_Aurora9871_** for favoriting and following. **_CreamPl _**for favoriting and **_Daughter of the Oceans_**, **_Kuroyami-hime_**, **_Kaiko Pyon_** and **_kenmapplepie_** for following this story after I uploaded the past two chapters. I never knew it was this rewarding to see so many people read your work and enjoy it enough to favorite and follow.

*Lastly I am very much grateful to **_CarlaBLa22 _**for leaving a review on my last post. You've asked and I have delivered. Thank you for waiting and I hope you enjoyed it.

**_Thank You_**


	8. Chapter 8

Kenma was confused as to why she was willing to tell him all this, they haven't even said a word to each other ever since she got here. But he wasn't going to start questioning it now as he watched her silently collect her thoughts.

"Hmmm….Where should I start?" Kanna said as she turned to gaze at the ground. After a few minutes, she started.

"When we were little, Koutaro dragged me to every sport he took an interest in. Being as enthusiastic as him, I was always right behind. We've tried practically everything, but we eventually lost interest and dropped them all to move on and find something much better. That was until we came across Volleyball."

A small smile starting to graze her face as she continued on.

"It was hard and hurt like hell, but I couldn't give it up and I knew Koutaro felt the same. There was just something about this particular sport that all the others we've tried didn't have. I still didn't know what it was that drew me in to volleyball and neither did he, but we both knew that this was it. We played together and against each other with the neighborhood kids. And eventually, we vowed to one day be in a team and play in an official match, even if we wouldn't be in the same team."

"When Koutaro had his first official game, I was just as ecstatic and nervous as he was, even though I wasn't the one playing. More so when they won, I couldn't contain myself. I listened attentively as he narrated how awesome and how different it was to be officially on the court. I imagined myself in his position and could hardly wait any longer."

Kenma watched as her expression changed from nostalgia to a troubled one.

"But everything was so different from what Koutaro described as being in a team. Sure we trained together and worked to improve ourselves, but it felt nothing like a team. It felt like every single one of them was always at each others' throats, constantly competing against each other. The other first years couldn't take it and quit not long after they started, but I didn't."

With every word and every passing second the creases on her forehead continued to deepen.

"When you have a cousin like Koutaro, you had to be able to do stuff normal people wouldn't even think of. But that's also the reason why I didn't have a specialty. I was great as an all-rounder, I knew I was. It was my greatest pride that I could keep up with my outrageous cousin and his equally outrageous antics. I worked myself hard. It didn't matter to me that this wasn't my ideal team, I just wanted to be given the opportunity to play in a game. It wasn't long before I was noticed and put in as a regular to be. I was beyond excited, I was finally going to stand on an official court and be in an official game. Sure I was worried, but had hoped that they were only behaving like that in practice, and that I could count on them on an official game. Boy was I naïve, oh so naïve."

_**"They were even worse on the court."**_

She stopped and took a deep breath to gather enough courage to push through before continuing.

"I was devastated. It wasn't even close to how I imagined my first ever game to be. They would taunt each other instead of focusing on the other team, and in between breaks all they did was complain about how horrible the other's play was. To make matters worse this happened not only for my first game, but for every single game after. I had come to the realization that this has been going on for years. Sure we had won games, but I didn't feel any of the thrills Koutaro talked about."

"I had thought that was bad, but it was even worse when we lost. Being a first year and the most inexperienced, I was always the main target. I attended the practices and the games because I had to, not because I wanted to. The joy of volleyball was starting to become a distant memory to me."

"Koutaro didn't know. I didn't want him to. I never told him, but I knew he was starting to notice something was amiss when I didn't reply to his messages as much I used to. I would use practice as an excuse, it felt terrible to lie but I didn't have a choice. I grew thankful for his own practice keeping him preoccupied even in the weekends, making him unable to come over and see how pathetic I was becoming. It always relieved me that my parents were too busy to watch my games and that Koutaro's games happened at the same time as mine."

"I didn't want them to see me like that."

She was now shaking, struggling to continue.

"But then there was that game, the one game where they just had to finish early enabling him to watch. We'd lost so terribly with a huge gap in scores. The others got so mad they took it out on me. I didn't even know he was there until he appeared in front of me, protectively shielding me from my teammates. I wasn't sure just how much of everything he saw, but it didn't matter. Koutaro was furious. If it wasn't for his team, he might've done something irreversible. I couldn't register anything they'd said afterwards. All I could think about was, he had just witnessed everything I was trying so desperately to hide."

"He had won, their team had won. I didn't have to actually be there to know, he wouldn't have rushed to come see me if he didn't. Despite the differences in our games I didn't hate him for it, no. I just couldn't, not when I knew that he valued volleyball as much as I did, maybe even more so. No, I hated the situation I was put in. While he was celebrated, I was condemned for being useless. All my hard work in conditioning and training my body, had been labeled worthless. That day, in the aftermath of that game, was the day volleyball became an entirely different sport to me."

"After everything that happened, Koutaro refused to let me stay in a club that didn't see how amazing and capable I was. _"They don't deserve her"_ were his exact words. I've never seen him that mad and I hoped to never see it again. Eventually my parents agreed to transfer me to his middle school so that he could keep an eye out for me. He had tried everything to make me come back to volleyball again. He even tried to make me their manager, but I just couldn't look at volleyball the same way again. I still attended his games though, because despite what happened, I loved my cousin and seeing him so happy made me happy too."

She finished. After a long silence she looked Kenma's way, slightly nervous about what he'd say after she spilled everything. She wasn't prepared for the look he had on his face. He had his eyebrows scrunched up, his lips in a thin line as he stared intently at her. She was beginning to worry, when he suddenly lifted his hands and swiped both her cheeks with his thumbs. Surprised and confused she was about to question him, when she saw his fingers. She lifted her hands to her cheeks, surprised to feel them damp. She started to wonder when she had started to cry, she didn't even notice.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn—" She started to apologize when, Kenma suddenly pulled her into his arms.

They both stiffened up at the contact, Kenma mostly because he didn't know why he suddenly did what he just did when he was emotionally constipated. But he started to relax when Kanna positioned herself comfortably in his arms. He started to caress her head softly. He didn't know exactly what he had to do. He just acted upon instinct, hoping that whatever he was doing somehow gave comfort to the girl in his arms. He was instantly relieved when said girl snuggled into him, though he couldn't help the slight blush that colored his cheeks.

They sat there for awhile in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's warmth in the cold summer night. Eventually they both agreed that it was getting late and they should seriously be heading to bed. After Kanna's many thanks to Kenma, they bid each other a good night.

Kenma didn't always enjoy being in close proximity with others, but what just happened made him think.

_"That, That was nice."_ As he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

Notes:

*We finally have a full background story for Kanna. Full support for Kenma secretly enjoying cuddles, he's just too cute.

*I struggled immensely with writing this chapter, it took me 3 and a half days, some additional days too cause I had a lot of thoughts as to what I was going to put in this but ended up disregarding a whole chunk of it. I'm still not sure if I was able to narrate it so that it flowed nicely and was easy to understand, but I hope you like it.

*I would like to also thank _**wolfwonder**_ and _**darkpercy5** _for favoriting and following, and _**Tick Tock Follow the Clock**_ and _**Jintana** _for favoriting after I posted the last chapter.

_**Thank You**_


	9. Chapter 9

It was a great morning. The sun was shining brightly. You could hear all the energetic chatter coming from the cafeteria. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits. **And then there was Kanna.**

All chatter stopped as the doors of the cafeteria opened to reveal a disheveled Kanna. Everyone watched as she dragged herself to sit down at the nearest table with a flop and matching groan. Not really paying attention and minding whose table she sat at, when she had other priorities to attend to. Like stopping the world from spinning.

"Whoa..." Somebody said.

"What happened to you?" Followed by a voice she recognized to be Akaashi.

"You look horrible." Of course Koutaro wouldn't waste an opportunity, albeit worried about her current state.

"Gee Thanks." She said, still face down on the table dripping with sarcasm.

Akaashi being used to the cousins, spoke first "Did you stay up late last night?"

Kanna looked up for the first time to survey the people sitting at the same table, her cousin, Akaashi, the rooster head Kuroo and Kenma. Though it surprised her to find out that she was sitting right next to Kenma, and really close at that. Averting her gaze back to Akaashi to answer his question.

"Nope, not really. I wasn't even up that late and my headache stopped already."

From the corner of her eyes she could see Kenma studying her closely. _"I hope he doesn't think any of this was his fault."_

"I'm not even that tired. My eyes just feel heavy though." She finished trying to reassure them.

_"Must've been from all the crying"_ Kanna and Kenma both thought.

Having been reassured that his cousin was in no imminent danger, Koutaro beamingly spoke "You're okay right. Then that means you can play today."

Kanna didn't know just how far anybody could go with their randomness, but this was just beyond her. She couldn't imagine just how she was able to go along with this anomaly when she was little. She made a mental note to thank and treat his teammates sometime soon after the camp.

"On second thought, I think I might be coming down with something. Maybe I should go lie down and rest." She said trying to avoid getting roped into Koutaro's crazy antics.

"Nope, no take backs." He argued, his stupid smile widening with every passing second.

Kanna stared at him visibly fuming. Everyone could practically feel the dark aura surrounding her. They couldn't blame her though. She just woke up, hasn't even eaten and now was irritated beyond belief.

"I didn't even agree to this. Where did this even come from?" She said, glaring so hard at Koutaro it made them all flinch, even the coaches.

Seemingly having been unaffected by Kanna's glare, Koutaro persisted.

"Pleeeeeaaaassssseeeeee~ Just a few games." Begging on his knees, looking pleadingly at Kanna.

Unexpectedly enough or should I say expectedly enough, fellow simpletons joined the Ace. The simpleton squad consisting of Hinata, Nishinoya, Lev and Kageyama, though Kageyama bowed instead of kneeling.

Kanna looked around to the more reasonable bunch in the room, only to find them having the same expressions on their faces and staring at her pleadingly. She then felt a nudge on her leg and looked to her right to see Kenma silently encouraging her with his eyes to go through with it. With a sigh she nodded her head and agreed, already dreading the impending pain her body would be in.

After a couple of discussions, it was agreed that the games with Kanna were to be held in the afternoon as the coaches have yet to decide who would get to play. They got her to agree to a full three set game with interchanging players. They planned to get the best out of those mere three games, and they would do so by choosing wisely.

Everybody left the cafeteria to let Kanna eat her breakfast and to start their respective trainings. Well all except one inconspicuous pudding head who remained in his seat, unnoticed by the others.

After a few minutes of silence and letting Kanna have a few bites of her food, Kenma asked "Are you really alright?"

Kanna swallowed before looking at him and answering "Yeah I think so, though I'm not sure I will be after what's about to happen."

She finished with another groan which brought a smile to Kenma's face and made him laugh a little. Having heard his laugh and assuming it was for her misery, she glared at him and nudged his arm.

"You're at fault here too you know. You dragged me into this. And here I thought I could trust you." Kanna said pouting and sulking while turning her attention back to finishing her food.

"And shouldn't you be heading to the gym? They're probably looking for you." She said, suddenly remembering that the person beside her was an important team member.

"I don't think they'll really notice if I was gone for a few minutes." Kenma said so carelessly it made Kanna turn to him with an _"Are you kidding me" _expression.

Kenma almost wanted to laugh, _almost_.

_"She's too adorable for her own good"_

"Hmmm I don't think so. You are their brain are you not?" Kanna said as she placed her utensils down on her tray.

"A vital member in the team, that means they would definitely notice if the smartest and most reliable member isn't there." She finished as she stood up to bring her tray to the sink.

Kenma watched her in silence as she started to wash her tray, before he began. "I was wondering if I could watch you play a different position. From what you said, I gathered that you could do so much more."

He paused before continuing, cautiously observing her for any form of discomfort. "And from what I saw, you were unconsciously holding back a lot in that game yesterday."

Kanna stopped cleaning her tray to look up in thought for a minute, before going back to what she was doing.

"Really, I didn't even notice." She said with a shrug.

Once she was done, she placed her tray on the drying rack and wiped her hands on a wash cloth before turning back to face Kenma. Looking down at her feet and anxiously rubbing her hands, she asked. "You think I'll do the same thing later?"

"I know you won't, because I'll be there." Kenma started as he stood up from his seat and took a few steps towards her.

"And I look forward to playing in a game against you to see just how great you really are, so no holding back." He finished.

Surprise over took Kanna's features as she lifted her head up to look at Kenma. She was opening her mouth to question him when she took notice of his eyes. They shined playfully, almost mischievous.

"Oh~ are we doing this Kenma-kun?" Kanna said challenge in her voice but a smile on her face.

"Hmm, I guess we are Kanna-chan." Kenma answered mimicking the same smile on his face.

They shook hands and with one last nod they went out of the cafeteria to do their own stuff. Totally unaware of the internal turmoil the other person was having.

_"She called me Kenma-kun."_ Kenma thought with a little blush.

_"He called me Kanna-chan." _Kanna thought, red starting to tint her cheeks.

_"This should be fun." _They both thought.

* * *

Notes:

*The next chapter I planned will be a short one, but please look forward to that one cause it depicts Kenma's POV on this.

*I extend my thanks to _**Alessia Kibono**_ and _**RoGuE1989** _for favoriting and following, to _**BlackWind 34**_ for favoriting and to **_Lady Liberty- The First_** and _**4plywhenicry**_ for following after my last post.

*I would also like to extend my thanks to those who reviewed _**CarlaBLa22**_, once again and _**Tora3**_.

*I really like the idea of Kenma and cuddles, as I would like to envision him have a more emotional side beside his cannon's more analytical one. So you can be sure that there would be more cuddles in the future. The only problem that I'll have, and probably the biggest one, would be how to incorporate it so that it doesn't seem forced. I will try my best so please continue to look forward and enjoy reading.

_**Thank You**_


	10. Chapter 10

Kenma wasn't having a wonderful morning, contrary to everyone else in the room. The reason being, he awoke to Kuroo kicking his sides.

"A nice way to wake up isn't it?" He said. "_Kuroo that bastard._"

As he brushed his teeth, he couldn't help but let his mind wander to last night's events. From what Kanna explained in their conversation, Kenma gathered that there was a high possibility that Bokuto wasn't told the whole story. And if he read Bokuto right, which he did, Bokuto was probably aware of this fact himself. Kenma understood why she would feel the need to do what she did, and he couldn't blame her. He would've done the same thing if he was in the same position.

He'd been informed before hand by his team about what they had planned the previous night, seeing as he just disappeared. Anyways, the plan was to get Kanna to play volleyball with them, as simple as that. They reasoned out that it would help her interact with the others better. And according to Bokuto, her insights on what they could all improve on would immensely help them all out. He agreed with the fact that her criticisms would truly help them all out, so he didn't really question much how they planned to ask or more like convince her in agreeing to play a few games with them.

In hindsight, maybe he should've questioned it even a little bit.

He really should've asked what the plan was. Otherwise they wouldn't be in this situation right now. Admittedly, Kenma was worried about the current state of the girl sitting beside him. She looked exhausted. And although he wanted for her to agree like the others do, he just couldn't help but feel slightly guilty and partially responsible.

That's why he decided to stay behind.

Kenma studied her as she silently ate her food. He'd wondered about how he should approach the situation. Countless scenarios plagued his mind, but he didn't deem them to be appropriate, so he opted with the one he viewed to be most sincere but still straight to the point.

He'd asked her if she really was alright, to which she responded with a groan. The small crinkle of her nose as she did so made him chuckle a little. She then went on to slightly nag him about how he should be in the gym training with the others. He wasn't really thinking much when he responded, so he was quite intrigued and equally delighted to see such an expression on her face.

"_She's too adorable for her own good."_

Kenma didn't know what came over him to say his next few words. Maybe because he was unconsciously starting to get comfortable being in her presence, or maybe he was just so interested to see her play to her full potential. Maybe even both, but he was not going to back out of what he said now. He decided that he was going to go all out on this, and for once maybe he wouldn't even mind if he lost. **If it was to her.**

And he found out that he really didn't mind her calling him Kenma-kun.

_"She called me Kenma-kun." _He thought with an accompanying slowly growing blush, but then he suddenly stopped walking.

_"And Holy Game Gods I called her Kanna-chan!" _Now his blush was full blown, even covering his neck.

_"What the hell was I thinking?!" _He slapped both hands on his face and groaned as he tried to recollect his thoughts. After a few minutes, he started walking again in the direction of the gym. But not before stopping by the sinks to splash some water on his face.

By the time he reached the gym, he'd already willed his blush nonexistent. He made his way to Nekoma's corner and Kuroo immediately took notice of him.

"Oy, Kenma where were you?" Kuroo asked.

"Nowhere." Kenma answered as he made his way to pick up a ball from the basket.

Kuroo along with the others just looked at Kenma's back puzzled.

"What exactly happened to put him into such a good mood?" Yamamoto wondered.

"He isn't even noticing the smile he has on his face." Yaku pointed out.

"Kenma-san's in a good mood? He's smiling? Where?" Lev asked.

"Haha he is. Although it's slight, he's definitely in a good mood today." Kuroo answered with a hidden smile of his own. He watched his childhood friend glance outside and raised an eyebrow as he witnessed Kenma's smile get slightly bigger as a raven haired figure jogged past the entrance.

_"Hmmm"_

* * *

Notes:

*I'm back, so terribly sorry for not updating. I had to prepare for an important test, that it slipped my mind to post the new chapter.

*Its a known fact that Kenma notices a lot more than others, especially when he takes an interest in them. I tried to depict that here, although short. I plan to do so more on future chapters just to get a more romantic side to Kenma's greatest quality.

*Once again I extend my thanks to _**CarlaBla22** _for another review. I hope you wouldn't mind me imagining reading your review in a peppy way. It truly does give me strength to know that someone enjoys something I made (although lacking). It helps build what little self-confidence I have in myself and what I do, so really thank you.

*I would also like to extend my thanks to _**SlypheKuro**_, _**MissHan321**_, _**Myherogal22**_, _**Boooop**_, and _**White Fox1000**_ for favoriting and following; _**blueorangatan**_ and _**SpringSugar**_ for favoriting, and _**ArmyJinxyC**_ and _**AbbieJean**_ for following.

*In the short while that I was gone, a lot of people have taken an interest in this story and I can't even begin to describe just how moved I am by the single act of following or favoriting it. I hoped you lovely people liked this short chapter, and please do so look forward to the next one.

_**Thank You**_


	11. Chapter 11

It was time and Kanna was prepared, well kind of. Unlike yesterday, today she had stretched and was all warmed up. She was still in one of Koutaro's big and baggy shirt though, but now she adorned the shorts she wore when she arrived, for added mobility. Silently thanking the heavens that she was wearing sports shorts despite the unexpected turn of events. Physically she knew she was ready, mentally though was another matter altogether. Not to mention she was worried about how hot it was getting.

"_Today has got to be the hottest day since I got here." _She thought as she made her way back inside the gym. As she stepped inside she could see the Karasuno team doing flying receives.

"_They must've changed the penalty. Good for them. I'd only been jogging around the gym for a few minutes and I could already feel a headache coming. Even I wouldn't want to keep running up such a steep hill in this heat."_ She thought as she walked to a corner silently cheering them on in completing their penalties.

As Kanna sat to put on a pair of knee pads Fukurodani's Libero had lent her, she began to observe the games still taking place, gathering information to help coordinate with the people she might team up with and of course information to use for countermeasures. Soon there was only one game left, Nekoma against Shinzen.

Kanna's eyes scanned each player on the court, but no matter how hard she tried to look away her eyes seemed to be drawn to a certain pudding head. The whole Nekoma team was great and they surely live up to their title as a stubborn team to deal with, but Kenma was on a whole other level.

She's been here for three days but she'd always been asleep for most part of the trainings, and only awake when she'd have to help with dinner, so this would be the first time she'd actually get to watch him play. And Kanna was mesmerized.

Kenma's play was calculatingly ruthless. From what she was told he was very observant, she could see that. But the way he utilized his observations was hauntingly captivating that it gave her goose bumps. She just couldn't look away.

"_The stories Koutaro and Keiji told me didn't do justice to how good their team actually is. Damn it. Why couldn't I have been there to watch their matches against Nekoma? I've watched majority of their matches, so how come the matches I missed were specifically against Nekoma?!"_ She was so distracted that she didn't even realize she was clenching her fists, only noticing when the whistle blew bringing her back to reality. She flexed her fingers to bring back the feeling in them as she made her way to the coaches calling her attention.

While the others took their small break from their respective games, she began discussing with the coaches on how to proceed with the games for a smooth transition with the players and how to better maximize the opportunity _(mainly on the coaches' side)._

She didn't know what was wrong. One minute everything was fine and dandy, and then the next second Koutaro was running towards her with an incredulous look on his face, Akaashi right behind him.

"What do you think you're wearing?!" Koutaro yelled frustrated at his obviously oblivious cousin.

She looked down at herself wondering what the hell he was talking about.

"Uh, Clothes?" Came her confused answer with an equally confused expression.

Koutaro would have found it endearing, if it weren't for the fact that his cousin looked like **that** at the moment.

"Why do you look like that?!" He asked once he was standing right in front of her and making sure to block his cousin from the view of all the others entering the gym.

"Like what?" Kanna questioned back.

"THAT?!" Koutaro said as he gestured up and down her body with both hands for added emphasis to his point.

Kanna really couldn't understand what the problem with her clothing was. She's not even wearing something inappropriate and was quite presentable "_to her standards"_. But seeing as she wouldn't get anywhere with how ridiculous Koutaro was being, Kanna looked to Akaashi for help.

"_*sigh*_ Keiji?" She asked.

"Kanna-san, I think what Bokuto-san meant to say was, how you look like you don't have…..um…. anything underneath that…" Akaashi answered red starting to slightly tint his cheeks.

Kanna wouldn't be related to Koutaro if she wasn't in anyway totally oblivious or careless in something, it just so happens to be with regards to her appearance, much to Koutaro's dismay. To be fair, she really didn't think that there was anything wrong with what she was wearing. Her shorts weren't the standard short volleyball shorts, her shorts ended up about 5 inches above her knee, so technically not too short. It just so happened that Koutaro's shirt is just really too big on her that it reaches nearly past her knees completely concealing her shorts, so it is understandable that they would think that way.

"Uh, I'm wearing shorts you know." She said as she lifted up her shirt to show that she was indeed wearing shorts.

"OY!" Koutaro yelled, surprised and forcefully yanked her shirt down with a matching bop to her head.

"Ow! Whaaaatttt you said-" She whined as she rubbed her aching head.

"YEAH BUT I DIDN'T MEAN YOU HAD TO DO THAT?!" Koutaro responded back, to which Kanna just pouted.

By this time everybody's already in the gym and bearing witness to a different side of the usually laid back captain and one of the struggles he has to endure being the older Bokuto.

Shirofuku, feeling the need to be responsible of her members, approached the trio.

"Uhh Kanna-chan? Why don't you just tuck your shirt in, yes?" She said as all three of them looked at her.

Kanna did just that but not without Koutaro blocking her from the view of the others once again and dragging Akaashi with him.

"Well? Am I good?" Kanna asked once she was done fixing herself.

After giving her a once over, "Yes, yes you're good." Koutaro answered with a nod.

"**Great, then let's get started, shall we.**" She said with a familiar glint in her eyes.

* * *

Notes:

***Hello Lovely People! I am posting another chapter since its the holidays and all**. I don't have much planned, so I was able to write a lot for this and the upcoming chapter. I had a lot of fun making this chapter. I felt that I was starting to really build Kanna's character with this.

*I extend my thanks to _**sakurablossom142**_, _**katelaurraine**_, _**Kiritimiri**_ and _**RebelAshRunner** _for favoriting and following; _**KatQueenOfHearts**_ for favoriting, and _**swirler44**_, **_VividReader365_**, _**Random2Friends**_, _**midnitstar**_, _**XxTheDarknessOfMySoulxX**_ and _**fanficaddic21**_ for following._ (I just realized after checking, that I missed a few people to thank in my last post, so I am sending my thanks through this one instead.)_

*I would also like to thank _**MyHerogal22**_ for the review, and to _**CarlaBLa22**_ for the continuous support. Really thank you.

*I have my work cut out for me for the upcoming chapters. My volleyball knowledge amounts to watching other people play in high school and multiple re-watching of Haikyuu episodes. Nevertheless, I will do my best with what little descriptive vocabulary I have and try at the very least to make it understandable. It will probably take longer than what I would anticipate_ (like the last time),_ but not too long as I'm free now. Please do look forward to the next chapter.

_**Thank You, enjoy the rest of your holiday and may your New Year be abundant in love and good health.**_


	12. Chapter 12

To say that Kanna wasn't nervous was an understatement. Yesterday was a miracle beyond miracles. She didn't know how she was able to pull it off, but today was different. She would have to do this right or risk all the time and effort everybody put into planning this.

Currently, she was standing in a corner watching, as the coaches briefed the teams about what she and the coaches had discussed earlier when they all had their breaks. Appearance wise she was watching, but in actuality she was just staring absentmindedly in that direction, as she sweated anxiously and kept on restlessly rubbing her upper lip with her finger whilst biting her bottom one.

She was far enough for the others not to really take notice, whether it was a conscious decision to position herself there or not, she didn't know. She was so lost in thought that she didn't realize just how fidgety she was getting. No matter how far she was from the others, a few of them surely were bound to notice.

The first one to notice her was Kenma, the second being Kuroo as he saw the troubled expression on the former's face. He then gently nudged Koutaro and directed his head in Kanna's direction, once Koutaro turned to him with an inquiring face. Once Koutaro realized what the problem was, he didn't care that the coaches weren't done explaining, he got up abruptly and made his way to Kanna.

The others noticing the sudden action didn't say anything and just listened to the coaches as they continued to explain, once they saw what the reason was.

Well except for a few who had to be stopped by their respective senpais. _*cough* _Hinata and Lev _*cough* _

They all just hoped that she was alright.

Kuroo then glanced back at Kenma. He wasn't looking in Kanna's direction anymore, but instead in front. It could've fooled him into thinking that he was listening to the discussion, but the barely noticeable stiffness of his posture and slight furrowing of his eyebrows didn't escape Kuroo. He's known Kenma far longer than anybody else and he was clearly not paying any attention to what the coaches were saying.

He gave a slight nudge to Kenma's shoulder and said. "Don't worry too much."

Kenma then looked at him and said. "Worry about what?"

"Her." Kuroo didn't say nor did he point to any direction to indicate who he was talking about, because he knew that Kenma would know regardless.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm thinking about what strategies to use for the game." Kenma argued and turned to face forward once again.

Kuroo could only sigh at his totally in denial and equally transparent childhood friend. _"I'll just let him deal with it on his own then."_

Koutaro on the other hand had just arrived in front of Kanna, snapping her out of her daze.

"Oh Kou-nii, shouldn't you be listening to the coaches right now? What are you doing here?" She asked puzzled as to why he was suddenly in front of her, when she was sure that she was totally alone a moment ago.

Koutaro stared at her in silence as her words sinked in. _"Kou-nii"_, she called him _"Kou-nii"_. That in itself, was a big indication that she clearly wasn't as comfortable as she wanted to appear.

"You. I'm here because of you." Koutaro answered.

"What? Why?" Kanna questioned nervously.

"You're thinking of unnecessary stuff again. If you keep that up, you'll be spiraling down that hole like last time." He reprimanded.

"Wha-I'm not." She tried to argue.

"Yes, you are. There's nothing to worry about, because these people are not like them." He said whilst gesturing to the seated bunch.

Kanna turned in their direction. She glanced around at all these people who have all been so nice to her these past few days, despite her not really able to talk to them properly yet. Even though they've all met just recently, they have done nothing but be supportive and encouraging towards her.

As her eyes kept wandering, they landed on one particular pudding-head. As their eyes met, his reassuring and uplifting words echoed through her mind. And she knew then that she would be fine, that everything would be just fine.

Kenma watched as she closed her eyes, took a deep breath before opening them again, but with new found conviction. He knew without question that whatever doubt was still lingering in her mind, had now all but vanished. He was proud of her and he'd be sure to tell her that, but right now they had a game to play.

With all conflicts resolved and instructions given the coaches began to list down the names for the teams for the first set. As Shinzen High and Ubugawa High relinquished rights to play in favor of observing instead, the schools participating were able to put their strongest players into good use and see how they would be able to work with other players and also find hidden weaknesses to improve on.

**Game 1**

**Team A **

Bokuto Koutaro (WS)

Bokuto Kanna (WS)

Tanaka Ryuunosuke (WS)

Tsukishima Kei (MB)

Haiba Lev (MB)

Kageyama Tobio (S)

Yaku Morisuke (L)

**Team B**

Azumane Asahi (WS)

Yamamoto Taketora (WS)

Fukunaga Shouhei (WS)

Kuroo Tetsurou (MB)

Hinata Shouyo (MB)

Akaashi Keiji (S)

Nishinoya Yuu (L)

Kanna silently seethed. She was forbidden to choose her own position and was stuck being a Wing Spiker for this game, and for the next two.

_"That idiot definitely said something unnecessary." _She thought, as she sent deadly glares towards Koutaro.

Meanwhile, the said person was just jumping and screaming around being utterly unaware of the impending doom that's coming his way. She made her way towards her gathered team members, all the while sighing to herself.

They were all given a few minutes to somewhat formulate a plan of attack against their opposing team. But since Kanna hasn't been able to watch the others play, all she could do was listen as the others relayed her information they'd gathered from watching each other play.

That said it was harder than she'd originally thought it would be, especially when you have such complicated team mates. Out of all of them, only one person seemed sane enough.

_"Better stick to him then. If I ask him something, I'd probably get an answer better than all of their answers combined."_

Kanna shook her head and turned to face Yaku. "Uhm… Yaku-san" She paused slightly, before bowing and continuing. "I'll be in your care."

She may have gotten somewhat used to the others to hold a conversation, but the hesitation and slight stuttering was still there. Plus her starting a conversation first has not yet happened so far (as far as the others were concerned), so Yaku was quite surprised.

Nevertheless, Yaku smiled and said "Sure thing."

"Don't worry too much, we'll do just fine." He added as he watched her make an annoyed and distressed face while watching the others.

_"I sure hope so." _

_"Is completely written on her face." _Yaku thought with a slight chuckle.

_"Well, better lessen her worries then." _

* * *

Notes:

*I have once again re-read the previous chapters and edited a bunch. I can't believe that after my first sweep, I found even more mistakes I missed. Well I fixed them, to calm my heart. _BANSAI!_

*The progress is slow I know, I'm sorry. But I really wanted to showcase the characters, so I had no other choice. Just bear with me for just a few more chapters.

*I would like to thank **_HikariTatami_**, **_PrettyInPlaid_**, **_DesolateSun_**, **_Kurotigra_**, **_QueenOfAsh_**, **_mysticfairydancer_** and **_SumiJepsen_** for favoriting and following; **_bbymojo_**, **_jcat305_**, **_Kyoya kumo_** and _**Wargetter** _for favoriting, and _**EvanesceStream**, _**_North Moonlight _**and _**HanaeTakahashi** _for following.

**_Thank You_**


	13. Chapter 13

Turns out Yaku didn't have to worry about anything. He should've prepared himself instead. Sure they had an inkling that she was skilled, not a lot of people were able to respond to the Freak Quick on the first encounter, but she did and so perfectly at that.

Yesterday's short game allowed them a glimpse of what she could do. But it was so much of an understatement, it was almost laughable. The game started pretty slow. Nobody was yet used to the line ups, so they were still testing waters. Mistakes were inevitable. But when dealing with hormonal teenage boys with huge-ass prides, it's bound to be one hell of a ride.

It happened just after the second time-out of the first set was called. Asahi had called for a toss. As Akaashi set the ball, Lev moved to block. But he had jumped too early, his block wouldn't make it. So she ran and jumped, gritting her teeth as she lightly collided with Lev.

She couldn't block for the life of her, but she could most definitely change the course of the ball to make it easy for the others to pick it up. She smirked in satisfaction as she heard Yaku receive the ball.

_"Bless him and his incredible reflexes."_

Her smirk became a full blown grin once the ball Koutaro spiked landed right in the middle of the opposite court.

Meanwhile, Lev was shaking in anxiety. He'd just been told to watch the timing of his jump and yet he still messed it up.

_"I'm going to get yelled at."_

"OI LEV—" Yaku called to his visibly trembling kouhai, only to be interrupted.

Kanna delivered a loud and very painful strike to Lev's back. No words were exchanged as she made her way back to her position. And just like that, Lev felt so overwhelmed that tears were threatening to fall. He knew, as well as the others that that gesture by no means meant that his mistake was forgiven. But that if he ever made any, she'll be there to back him up.

Yaku, along with the rest of their team stared at Kanna's back in astonishment. That simple action wasn't meant for Lev only. It was a clear message to the rest of the team, **the same goes for them**.

"_Such a small body and yet so dependable."_

They thought, as determined grins broke on their faces.

"_We can't leave all the hard parts to her now can we." _

The opposing team watched this all happen in wonder. The Bokuto cousins sure do have the super power to lift up morale in the team without even doing anything special.

_"Truly troublesome."_

Determination only wasn't enough to win a game. Kanna's team had lost the set. Although the momentum of the previous set was with Team B, at the start of the second set, Kanna's Team soon took control. With a renewed and calculated attack strategy, they won the second set with a 5 point difference.

As the second set ended, the coaches came together to discuss what has happened so far. They agreed that it was a good thing that at the end of the first set, Bokuto gave his cousin free reign on the team. The change was instant. The coaches couldn't believe what they were seeing. And immediately regretted on not taking into account that possibility, they would have missed out on something truly outstanding.

The Bokuto cousins were truly on a level of their own. But unlike her male counterpart who leads his team to victory by continuously pushing for points, Kanna leads her team on by strengthening any holes that appear while within game. She might as well be the living embodiment of what Kageyama once hoped to be, **a one-man team**.

Her awareness on court, from her teammates to the opposing team, is remarkable. She has the speed and technique to greatly utilize her incredible game sense, and she adapts. Adapts so fluidly that it's frightening, enough to make a chill run up their spines. But that's just what these boys need.

But the coaches had a feeling that not all of her cards were on the table. Even though they couldn't wait to see what more she has in store, the shock to actually witness it was still huge.

It happened on the third set, just after Kanna's team achieved the set point. The opposing team managed to make Kageyama take the first touch, which scrambled their formation. They all watched as Kanna ran in position to receive the ball, expecting her to simply return the ball back over the net, when the unexpected happened.

As she was reaching her position below the ball, she called "Kageyama!"

Kageyama, albeit startled, immediately reacted upon instinct and ran to spike. Once he was in the air awaiting the ball, Kanna tossed. She watched in satisfaction as the ball made contact with Kageyama's palm, and proceeded to land precisely where she knew the opposing team wouldn't be guarding with a resounding thud. A satisfied grin broke on her face as the whistle blew, calling their point and ending the match.

Kanna walked towards Kageyama and slapped his back as she complimented him with a, "Nice Spike Kageyama-kun!"

Her action seemingly broke whatever spell over came the group, as Koutaro ran to squeeze the two in his embrace, followed by the others on his tail. By some miracle Kanna managed to escape just in time to not be trapped by her giant of a cousin, Kageyama though, was not so fortunate.

Kanna's Team had won the first game with a **2:1**. Her grin was as big as Koutarou's. She couldn't help but be consumed by the adrenaline of playing volleyball. Koutaro was right. She truly did love this sport, no matter how much she tried to say otherwise.

They take a 30 minute break after the game for Kanna's sake, as she isn't used to playing as rigorous as she used too. While she sat down catching her breath, the other gathered to discuss the game that just took place. Discuss was a pretense though, as they all looked too lost in a daze to even begin.

The Shinzen and Ubugawa boys looked at them with sympathy, for they felt it too even if they weren't actively playing with them.

"Damn Bokuto what's your cousin made of?" said Kuroo, breaking the silence as he wiped his face of sweat.

"With the way she played you wouldn't even think, much less believe that she hasn't played in years." Kageyama said, dumbfounded as he still couldn't believe what just happened.

"Are you absolutely sure about that?" asked Tsukishima as he turned directly at Akaashi. Akaashi's affirming nod did nothing to quell their anxieties and only made them groan in frustration.

"Did you see the way she handled that screw up?" Sawamura asked.

"Which one though?" Yaku inquired.

"I would have to agree with that one. She quite literally saved our asses on more than one occasion." Tsukishima surprisingly complimented.

"That toss she sent to Kageyama-san was perfect too." said Akaashi.

"Yeah, I still have goose bumps." Sugawara said, causing the others to absentmindedly nod their heads in agreement while the event replayed in their minds.

"So what do we do?" asked Sawamura.

Hearing the continuous compliments being dished by his peers towards his precious baby owl, Koutaro glowed with unabashed pride. His whole body was buzzing with barely contained excitement, satisfied that she was getting the recognition she so rightfully deserved. His eyes softened as he turned to Kanna happily chatting with the managers. She truly did glow when she played volleyball. He'd do everything in his power to keep that smile on her face, no matter what.

* * *

Notes:

***Hello lovely people!** I hope you're all keeping safe in this time of crisis. I have been busy keeping up with the latest updates, that I wasn't able to post the chapter earlier. I do apologize for that. It might've been a little bit overdue, but hope you still like it.

*I would like to extend my thanks to _**Purplekittenrose**_, _**winter rose-chan**_, _**Kittycat1700** _and _**sheetoo1011**_, _**lucyknight13**_, _**Purrihasgotalongusername**_, _**KyrieCat11** _and _**WhiteRaven75** _for favoriting and following; _**Mrs. LinKoujo15**_, _**dont walk in the rain storm**_, _**michelle .kong **__**_._**__**7**_, _**Lilty Ravenhearth**_ and _**0MysticKitty** _for favoriting and _**Bananacheese7**_, _**marta2306**_, _**Sayori1412**_, _**Goshikiii** _and _**serial napper**_ for following.

_**Thank You and Keep Safe**_


	14. Chapter 14

"You doing alright there Kanna-chan?" asked Shimizu, as she and the other managers attended to her.

The coaches decided that Kanna needed the managers more than the boys did. So they placed the responsibility of giving water bottles and towels to the teams that weren't participating.

They watched as she took big deep breaths before nodding at them, and taking the towel being offered to her by Yachi.

"You have to tell us if you can't handle it anymore okay, we'll let the coaches know immediately." Suzumeda said with concern flooding her voice.

"I'd be bad if you pushed yourself too hard." Miyanoshita said equally concerned for her well being.

Kanna gratefully smiled "Thank you, really. But I'm still good."

"If you say so, but we'll continue to monitor you in case you show signs of over working yourself. But if we say you're done, you're done alright?" Shimizu clarified.

"Yes maam." Kanna said with a matching salute, which made the girls laugh.

Despite the genuine concern of the managers, their bubbliness managed to alleviate some of the fatigue Kanna was feeling. She truly was grateful, for she needed to have a clear mind in the next game. She was after all, **going against the best tactician in the camp**.

**Game 2**

**Team A **

Fukunaga Shouhei (WS)

Bokuto Kanna (WS)

Yamamoto Taketora (WS)

Onaga Wataru (MB)

Hinata Shouyo (MB)

Sugawara Koushi (S)

Nishinoya Yuu (L)

**Team B**

Kai Nobuyuki (WS)

Sawamura Daichi (WS)

Yamato Sarukui (WS)

Washio Tatsuki (MB)

Inuoka Sou (MB)

Kozume Kenma (S)

Komi Haruki (L)

The whistle blew, signaling the start of the second game. The managers bid Kanna good luck as she walked towards the court to take her place.

The guys on Kanna's team were on high spirits and raring to get the game started. The same could be said for the opposing team. Determination set on their faces. It's to be expected, with how Kanna handled the previous game. She clearly showed how capable she was. Despite the differences in how long they've all been playing in the sport, it's a huge honor for the guys to play against and alongside someone as skilled as her. So the least they could do is play their utmost best, no matter the results.

From just the first set, Kanna knew that this game would be a hard one for her. The rallies were taking much longer than she would've liked. It was extremely difficult to just land a point, much less get a considerable lead. In the end it ended with the opposing team winning only a single point away.

"_I might just have to sub-out of this one if I want to be able to play on the last game. But I'll wait and see for now." _She thought as she listened on the others discuss strategies, while she drank from her water bottle.

Meanwhile the guys on the opposite team were having a discussion of their own.

"It's like playing against Kenma, but worse." said Komi, who earned a couple of nods from the guys.

"I can't even imagine just how much worse she could possibly be from Kenma." Ogano said, with a shake of his head.

"You have any tips on how to deal with yourself?" Kuroo asked as he turned towards Kenma, only be rewarded with a really peeved expression from the said person.

"Oohhhh nice expression you have there." snickered Kuroo, as he guffawed taking pleasure in his friend's misery.

"Tsk. Alright, how about if we…" Kenma said as the guys huddled closer to listen to his strategy for the next set.

The set went the same way the previous one did. Except there was a minor problem, the game was starting to take its toll on Kanna. She was beginning to feel the start of a headache. She needed to finish this now, for she felt like if she didn't, it was going drag even longer. And she wouldn't be able to last if it did. Thankfully, the opportunity she's been waiting and anticipating anxiously for, finally came.

"_This is it. Flawless as always." _ She slightly chuckled as she admired Kenma's set.

"_I'm sorry Kenma, but we're winning this set." _She thought as Nishinoya received the ball.

Kanna had informed Sugawara ahead of time about the plan, so he was able to react immediately on her signal. They both moved quickly towards the ball, not missing a beat. As Kanna jumped to spike, time seemed to stop as they became mesmerized by her form in mid-air.

_"She wasn't kidding when she said she was great as an all-rounder. But she sold herself too short by saying she didn't have a specialty, like it was some sort of badge. She didn't even need one, this is her own specialty. And I have a feeling this was the real reason why her old teammates used to target her."_ Kenma thought, as he became captivated by her movements. He didn't even notice the ball as it whizzed past his head until he heard the sound of it colliding with the floor, followed by the whistle blowing, bringing him back to reality.

Kenma turned to look at the ball and slowly replayed what just happened in his mind, only to gasp and whip his head to stare at her in bewilderment. _"It couldn't be…."_

Kanna returned his look, with interest and amusement swirling in her eyes. "You're good Kenma, really good. Patiently watching and calmly calculating every movement."

She smiled as she said, "Thank you for being so attentive, Kenma-kun~." Before turning and skipping her way towards the benches.

At her words, Kenma's eyes widened along with a few of the others. "_She read me."_

"Uh….What just happened?" asked Komi, to no one in particular.

"No—" started Kuroo

"—way" finished Yaku

"What? WHAT?!" Inuoka asked, confused from all the reactions.

"THAT WAS SO COOL!" beamed Nishinoya as his eyes sparkled.

"THE BALL WENT ALL SWOOSH!" Hinata excitedly claimed, following after his senpai as they both jumped around the gym discussing the play in their own incomprehensible language.

"I didn't just imagine that right?" asked Kai bewildered, who got equally spaced out confirmations from the guys.

"Kenma?" Kuroo called out to his friend as he's the only one left standing on the court, only to smirk in amusement. Kenma sported the look he once described as, _Kenma when he's excited to play a new game he just bought_.

Kenma on the other hand was lost in thought as he stared at Kanna. For once, he didn't know what to do. Before, if there was a level he couldn't clear, he'd just play it again and again until he got used to it enough to win. The same had been for games wherein he'd encountered teams or players with a different play style, like Karasuno. He'd adapted to them. But there has never been an occurrence wherein his prediction had been used against him in a play. On top of that, it was so fluid. He didn't even know he'd been caught, until it was all over.

"_Frightening. She's truly frightening."_

* * *

Notes:

*I'm trying to move the story faster, because I want to focus more on the blooming (lacking thereof) romance between my two babies. When I started writing this I didn't expect it to be a slow burn, but it somehow ended up exactly just that.

*We're getting there, I promise. I already have the future chapters planned and some written, I just need to fill in the few chapters leading up to it. I'm committing to the monthly update, so I'm really considering what to write while still keeping the plot intact and easy to understand. Please do look forward to it and continue supporting this story.

*I would like to thank _**Hisoka866**_, _**sanchezelmex .ks**_, _**Leyzar101**_, _**Macschickennuggets2.0**_, _**Yurei-san**_, _**leiladixon**_, _**literal sunshine**_, _**n1ghtdr34m3r**_ and _**MagicLover16**_ for favoriting and following; _**Alice. A. Hime**_, _**Erica Tan**_, _**MyaAlli**_ and _**Zo1270**_ for favoriting and _**Yuuko Aosagibi**_, _**Diamond D' Natsuki**_, _**sndlr**_, _**lei01150221**_, _**Aishh**_, **_Hockey-Girl1322_**, _**NotSoHappyP-Nut**_, _**crkossi**_, _**Army4Life99**_, _**BecauseYourWorthIt** _and _**bobbig216** _for following.

_**Thank You and Stay Safe Everyone**_


	15. Chapter 15

Unfortunately after the second set, once Kanna explained her current state she was immediately forced to sub-out of the game. She received highly concerned, but mild scolding from the managers and coaches. They all talked it over, and Kanna was to sit out from the third set, up until the first half of the first set for the last game. The guys were clued in on the matter, some of them over-reacting a bit (I'm sure you already know who they were). But they unanimously agreed it would be the best course of action.

And so the third set started and went with Kanna on the sidelines. But it was clear that her team was not doing so well, being down on manpower. Despite Kanna giving pointers to her team every time-out, it was still not good enough as her playing and actively giving adjustments. Which resulted in their loss.

Even though they lost, Kanna was quite proud of her team for pulling through to the end. It seemed that Kanna being taken out of the game, made all the guys even more determined to win. The set went up until the 30's mark. The guys were clearly exhausted, so the coaches ordered a longer break to rest the guys playing again in the next game. They tried to replace them with different members, but that was met with explicit disapproval, so they opted for the next best thing.

Akaashi made his way to where Kanna was silently sitting, away from all the others huddled together resting and idly chatting.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked clearly concerned.

Akaashi could see just how much playing was taking its toll on her. She tried to mask it, and in fact was doing a decent enough job in doing so. Except he wasn't a setter for nothing, and he was sure a handful of very observant people have noticed too. Evidenced by the fact that some of them would glance her way every now and then.

"Positive." Kanna replied.

He stared at her quizzically. She gave him an extremely awkward attempt at a reassuring smile, which didn't really reassure him in the least bit. But despite this, he kept quiet and nodded his head. Kanna could only sigh in relief of him leaving it alone. Though she was sure she was going to get some major scolding later on.

"_I can deal with that when it comes."_ She thought as she made her way outside to get a breath of fresh air, away from the stuffy gym.

As the wind ran around her, she could feel some of her fatigue being carried away with it. She always did love the feeling of the wind as it kissed her skin and swept her hair. Closing her eyes and just letting the wind carry her wherever it wanted, was such a healing experience unlike any other.

In the silence of the wind and the small chatter coming from the gym, Kanna was undoubtedly startled to suddenly hear a voice speak.

"You seem better."

Kanna jumped, with an accompanying small shriek as she turned towards the culprit.

"Geez, you scared the living daylights out of me." She said, as she took deep breaths to calm her palpitating heart.

"Sorry." Kenma sheepishly apologized.

Kenma stood there behind her in silence. He'd noticed her talking with Akaashi, and soon after leaving the gym alone. He'd followed after her out of curiosity but also concern, mainly concern, though he'd beg to differ.

He observed how peaceful she looked just standing there as the wind danced around her. He marveled as he saw the exhaustion practically vanish from her whole form and a content smile blossomed on her face.

He was awoken from his stupor by the whistle sounding from the gym, indicating the end of their break. He opened his mouth to call out to Kanna, when she beat him to it.

"You ready to do this Kenma-kun?" Kanna asked as Kenma turned to face her.

"No Mercy?" Kanna said with a resolute look in her eyes.

"No Mercy." Kenma answered, straightening his back and mirroring the same look she had.

They both smiled wide at each other as they made their way inside the gym. **Oh were they in for a game they'll never forget.**

**Game 3**

**Team A **

Sawamura Daichi (WS)

Bokuto Kanna (WS)

Azumane Asahi (WS)

Kuroo Tetsurou (MB)

Onaga Wataru (MB)

Kozume Kenma (S)

Komi Haruki (L)

**Team B**

Bokuto Koutaro (WS)

Konoha Akinori (WS)

Kai Nobuyuki (WS)

Tsukishima Kei (MB)

Hinata Shouyo (MB)

Kageyama Tobio (S)

Yaku Morisuke (L)

As per the agreement Kanna would enter the game halfway through the first set. It would seem that the opposing team's strategy is to score as much points as they possibly could to create a significant lead. Because no matter how much they tried to convince themselves, their minds were not ready to confront the reality of Kenma and Kanna being in the same team. Fortunately that strategy worked out for them and they soon won the first set. But the excitement was short-lived. Kanna's team had won the second set by a landslide.

It was harrowing for all of them. They let their guard down. Despite knowing they shouldn't, they subconsciously did. The physical battle was one thing, but the mental battle was taking too large of a toll for them to manage. No matter what they tried to do, they could see nothing but complete and utter despair in their future.

"Those two really shouldn't have been paired together." Said Tsukishima, irritated with their current predicament.

"Well there's nothing we can do about it. Everybody agreed that the liberos and setters would all get a chance to work with her." Said Kai. He along with a few others were anticipating for this to happen when they saw the roster. But they gravely underestimated just how much synergy those two would create.

"I'm sorry. I know I'm supposed to pave the way for our spikers, but I just can't see a way out of this." Kageyama said grimly, frustration evident on his features.

Hinata and the rest of Karasuno stared at Kagayema in wonder. For the very first time, they are witnessing Kageyama admit that he can't do anything about the situation they're in. The seniors marvel at how much growth Kageyama has undergone, but that's not what bothers them. If even the genius Kageyama can't find a way, just how terrifying of a team are those two.

"Oy Bokuto, stop admiring your cousin and help us think." Konoha exclaimed towards his Captain. The others turned too, and sure enough the Fukurodani Ace was not paying a single bit of attention to what they were all discussing.

"Man~ how can I not be proud of her? I mean look at her." Said Koutaro, a little dazed as he gazed at his cousin discussing with her team members.

"I felt and I knew that she was capable of so much more. But this…." Koutaro said as he shook his head in disbelief. "Akaashi—"

"I know Bokuto-san." Akaashi interrupted as he too gazed at Kanna.

"Guess she just needed the right kind of people to bring that out of her." He said with an expression none of the others had ever seen on his normally expressionless face.

"I knew I did the right thing in bringing her along with me." Koutaro proudly stated.

"You did." Akaashi affirmed.

"She looks so happy." Koutaro softened as he gazed lovingly at his cousin.

"She does." Akaashi confirmed.

It was heartwarming watching the exchange between the two. Despite felling like they shouldn't interrupt the moment, they still had a game to get back to.

"Alright you two, enough with all the sentimental stuff, we still have a game to play." Yaku interrupted.

"HAHAHAHA RIGHT." Koutaro agreed bellowing in laughter as he turned back to his own team. They were right after all. He'd make sure to deal with the matters concerning his cousin later. Right now he had a game to finish.

* * *

Notes:

*Each and every review all you lovely people give, I cherish wholeheartedly. You can just imagine the several degrees of excitement I go through every time I receive a notification for a review. As for _**Hockey-Girl1322**_, you're too kind and the gesture is greatly appreciated . If I ever decide to write a more in dept chapter that focuses more on the game, I'll be sure to hit you up.

*I would also like to extend my thanks to _**Maaike Weert**_, _**Via-lee863**_, _**eve-tsuki94**_, _**prv8rose**_, _**uhhh. what**_,_** nicole. eunice. mercado**_, _**TsubasaAK** _and _**Cherryblossom305** _for favoriting and following; _**blackkat818**_, **_Sinepyppup_**, _**Dragon King Ryuga**_ and _**Harry's Little Sister**_ for favoriting, and _**harukohyuga**_, _**Seai06**_, _**Jdbecky21**_, _**CavaKel**_, _**Quaketoro**_, _**Sal00D18**_, _**zrinnamaria** _and _**MaskedSerenity** _for following after my last post.

_**Thank You~~ and Keep Safe**_


	16. Chapter 16

Every single one of the players were in high spirits despite the exhaustion, for this last set will decide the outcome of the game.

Currently the tallies for the previous games are as follows:

**Game 1**: **2 : 1** In favor of Kanna's team.

**Game 2**: **1 : 2** In favor of the opposing team.

**Game 3**: **1 : 1 **

No matter what the outcome of the game may be, the coaches were incredibly satisfied with today's practice matches with Kanna. For once they did not regret indulging the player's requests. They've already decided on what reward they will give out on the last day for all their hard work. But before that, it's time to find out who the victor of the last game will be.

"LEFT!"

"HERE!"

"BOKUTO-SAN!"

Kuroo and Asahi reacted and moved to block. Koutaro slammed a cross passed the block, determined in securing the point. Only for the ball to be picked up by Sawamura. Which in turn caused both Koutaro and Kageyama to click their tongues in annoyance.

The last set had barely even started, and already it was torturous. Every point earned, was earned painstakingly slow from a long rally. To top it all off, it was such a close game that nobody could get even a single point lead. Now they were entering the endless deuce territory.

A time-out was called and the teams gathered to discuss.

"This is too much." said Asahi clearly exhausted.

"We have to do something to end this." Sawamura stated as he wiped his face off of sweat.

"We're going to end it." Kenma declared.

"Oh?" Kuroo and the rest of the group's curiosities were peaked.

"What are you planning Kenma?" asked Komi intrigued, as he capped his water bottle to listen attentively to what the setter has to say.

"The rest of you just have to make sure to keep the ball in play and to keep attacking. The moment we gain a point." Kenma stopped and turned to look directly at Kanna and said.

"**I'll leave the last toss to you.**" The others just nodded their heads in agreement, even though they didn't clearly understand. Knowing it's those two, they could pull anything off. Meanwhile, Kanna was freaking out.

"You—Why are you assigning such an important task to me?! What if I don't make it?!" She exclaimed.

"You're going to make it." Kenma immediately responded.

"But—"

"**You will.**" Kenma interrupted with finality in his tone, which caused Kanna to pout at him.

"_How is it possible to be so cute even in distress?" _He thought, whilst struggling to keep his face neutral and preventing a blush from blooming on his face.

Kenma sighed and grabbed Kanna's arm, then proceeded to drag the both of them a little away from the rest of the team.

"Look you can do this. I know you can." He encouraged.

"But what if I get blocked?" She asked with downcast eyes and slumping shoulders.

"Every block has a weakness. You have good eyes. Even if you haven't played as a wing spiker that much, I know you'll be able to see it." Kenma said, with determination burning in his eyes.

Before Kanna could respond to Kenma, the whistle blew signaling the end of the time-out. Kenma lightly squeezed Kanna's arm in reassurance, and then made his way to take his position on the court. Kanna just sighed and followed after him to do the same.

After a few long rallies and multiple tries later. The opportunity arose in the name of everyone's favorite glass-hearted ace Azumane Asahi, along with the ever dependable pain-in-the-ass Kuroo Tetsurou. A glorious attack and block combination that gained them a one-touch from Kuroo.

Kenma signaled Kanna in his peripheral vision, and she proceeded to make her run up for the spike. The opposing team reacted and moved to block.

"Three Blockers!" warned Sawamura

Kanna took a deep breath before putting all her weight in the balls of her feet and jumped with all her might. To her, everything that happened afterwards was like watching it all play out in slow motion. As she was suspended in mid-air, even with the block in front of her, she could see clearly.

Maybe she really did have it all in her this whole time. But she never would've ever known if it wasn't for the amount of belief Kenma so blatantly wanted to shove unto her face. She supposes she should thank him. It is a great honor after all to have someone like him expect her to succeed, even if she herself doesn't.

"_Please accept this as an answer to the confidence you have in me, Kenma." _

Kanna thought as the ball hovered over her. She raised her hand and spiked the ball into Koutaro's fingertips with all her might. Yaku had moved to try and save the ball, but the trajectory of the ball made it impossible for him to reach.

Kanna stared at the ball in bewilderment as it smacked loudly on the gym floor. She then slowly turned her head to look in Kenma's direction and let out a gasp.

"KENMA! KENMA! KENMA! HAHAHAHAHA!" Kanna exclaimed as she ran and jumped to envelop Kenma in a hug, squeezing with all her might.

"I DID IT! I DID IT! HIHIHIHIHI!" She beamed as she continued to jump in delight in Kenma's arms.

"Yes, yes. You did." Kenma responded to the enthusiastic girl.

The others stared at the two. They didn't know how to react and what even to react to. First of all, that was an insane move they managed to pull off. And secondly, Kenma was returning Kanna's hug with a small smile on his face.

"WHAT?!" They yelled, but the two seemed to be too lost in their own world to care about the others. As Kanna continued to excitedly yell while Kenma nodded and responded quietly.

"THAT WAS SO COOL! KANNA-SENPAI! YOU'RE SO COOL!" Hinata's booming voice pulled everyone out of their trances and back into reality.

Kanna, ever to be swayed by the orange fluff-ball of sunshine, turned towards him and laughed along with a few others. She was in the middle of explaining what happened, when she began to sway, startling everybody. Kenma, Koutaro, Akaashi, and Kuroo the ones closest to her, reacted upon instinct to grab hold of her. Koutaro, being the fastest was the one who caught her. His anxious and worried expression was mirrored by every single person inside the gym.

"Kanna-chan?!" Koutaro exclaimed as he held her steady in his arms.

Kanna shook her head and pushed Koutaro with what little strength she could muster.

"I'm fine, just got to—" She tried to argue, but soon she was falling back into Koutaro's arms, unconscious.

The last thing she saw before everything went black, was Kenma's incredibly distraught face.

The others ran towards them, fussing over Koutaro holding the unconscious girl. The coaches tried to calm them down and instructed Koutaro to take his cousin to the sleeping quarters. Koutaro moved to properly carry Kanna and proceeded to follow after the managers.

Meanwhile at the gym, since the previous matches were rigorous enough, the coaches decided that the players were done for the day and instructed everyone to have ample rest before they had their individual practices. After giving out their warnings if they should catch any of them overworking themselves, the coaches left the gym to check up on Kanna.

After everyone did their cool down stretches, instead of moving around, they all gathered around in a large circle in the middle of the gym waiting for Bokuto or anyone of the managers or coaches to walk through the doors.

Each and every single one of them were beyond amazed at what just happened, but the concern for Kanna's well-being currently overpowered any other emotion.

"Hey guys."

They perked in attention at the sudden voice in the silence of the gym and turned to look in the direction it came from, only to see Shirofuku and Kiyoko standing by the doors.

"What did they say?" asked Sugawara breaking the silence.

"Overwork. She just needs to rest for a while so she's bedridden for the rest of the day. But she'll be fine." Kiyoko answered

At this, all the guys heaved a sigh of relief.

"Where's Bokuto-san?" Akaashi questioned

"Still there. He refuses to leave until she wakes up." answered Shirofuku pointing behind her.

"I'll go talk to him." replied Akaashi, as he left the gym to do just that.

The managers left after him while the others talked among themselves.

"Hopefully she'll be fine by tomorrow." Said Yaku, earning a nod from Sugawara as they continued to talk about how reckless some people could be.

Kuroo turned away from the conversation and noticed Kenma deep in thought.

"You good? Kenma?" he asked.

"Huh?" Kenma answered

Kuroo sighed. "They said she'll be fine. So you don't need to worry too much."

Kenma just deadpanned at him and said. "I wasn't." And then leaving to his own devices.

"_This guys seriously."_ Kuroo just shook his head at his best friend's behavior.

* * *

Notes:

***HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! It's been a year already since I first started uploading the story, can you believe it!**

***Thank you to all you lovely people who supported and will continue to support the story in the future. I wouldn't have been able to push myself to continue posting if it wasn't for all the support you have shown.**

*I would also like to extend my thanks to _**1SL4ND3R**_, _**YoshiBaby**_, _**Shizuku Minatsuki**_, _**amixanime**_, _**Ilamalama**_, _**Tagadaps-A**_, _**KunaiKurenai**_, _**lacerda9966**_ and **_Thu Le1_** for favoriting and following; _**kellos**_ and _**PoisonPen19**_ for favoriting, and **_horses717_**, _**RebelTreecko**_, _**chyanne200**_, _**alzandra**_, _**Veloxi**_, **_the. Jewel-huntress_**, _**picket. fences. 07**_, _**SilentMuse17**_, _**windlily6370**_, _**Celest24**_ and _**G-Tri**_ for following after my last post.

**_Thank You So So Much~~ I Send My Love To All Of You~~_****_❤️️_**


	17. Chapter 17

It's been a roller coaster of a day for everyone. First the intense practice matches, and then the matter of Kanna fainting. Now there was nothing they wanted more, than to relax. Most of the guys were already getting ready for bed, only a few were still left in the cafeteria. Kanna quietly entered with her tray, and made her way to the remaining managers cleaning trays and utensils. Shimizu noticed her and took Kanna's tray off of her hands. She'd protested at having the third year clean her tray, but Shimizu wasn't having it and shooed Kanna away to rest.

Kenma had just finished showering and was in no rush to go to bed. He wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, not with his fellow teammates currently wide awake and talking about the games that happened earlier today.

"_A normal person would be exhausted after everything we did." _He thought with a heavy sigh.

So here he was, silently roaming the halls to pass time. He'd just walked past the corridor leading to the cafeteria, when he had to pause and back track a bit. Kanna just walked out of the cafeteria and was making her way somewhere. Being himself, he quietly followed after her.

If someone saw and pointed out that it was because he was worried about her, he would gladly prove them wrong. He was only curious. That's all, nothing more. There was no way in hell it was because he was worried or anything of the sort. Nope.

Meanwhile, Kanna was deep in thought walking around the school aimlessly. When she finally came to, she realized she'd ended up in an area where the moon was quite visible. Wanting to enjoy the calming scenery, she walked forward a bit and took a seat on the grass, not minding the slightly cold breeze blowing. She sat there relishing in the silence and appreciating the beauty of the night, which one can't do as much in the bustling city of Tokyo.

Unlike the previous night, Kenma didn't hesitate much to join Kanna. He wordlessly sat beside her also taking in the beauty of moon in its full glory. Both of them sat in silence, enjoying the peacefulness of the night for once, away from overactive and loud players with seemingly endless energy supplies.

After a few minutes, Kenma asked "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Shouldn't you?" Kanna simply questioned back in a playful tone, which caused a smile on both their faces.

"But seriously, are you sure you should be out of bed?" Kenma says, after getting over how even in her tired state she could still be so snarky.

"I'm alright. I've rested enough. I wasn't even able to help with dinner preparations today. When the managers woke me up they said, that it wasn't necessary and me getting enough rest was more of a priority." She said with a shrug.

"They're right you know. You really scared all of us back then. You should've notified any of us if you were getting that tired. You didn't have to push yourself too much." He reprimanded.

"I know…." Kanna looked down dejectedly and apologized. "…I'm sorry."

She had caused a lot of inconvenience for everybody with her carelessness.

_"If only I had been more careful and attentive, none of that would have happened."_ She thought, unconsciously making a frown appear on her face.

Kenma knew that face, he knew it all too well. And from firsthand experience observing her, he knew that she makes the same face every time she doubts her capabilities.

Kenma raised his hand and placed it on her head, caressing gently.

"Hey, don't think too much about it. I bet you didn't even realize you were actually getting that tired, until it was happening. You were running on adrenaline after all." He said as he tried to encourage and reassure her.

Kenma wasn't really one to just go ahead and actively go out of his way to comfort someone. Yes he cared for his team. But he was usually more annoyed with them when they would worry about something, rather than feeling the need to reassure them. So he really hoped he was doing this right.

"_That seems to be a recurring thought I have recently whenever I'm around her." _He thought, internally sighing at his incompetence to function emotionally in situations.

Kanna smiled slightly at the gesture, which caused Kenma's shoulders to lose the tension he didn't know he had and to retract his hands back to his sides.

"You know, I'm going to miss this. I know I was a bit apprehensive at the beginning, but I've met and gotten to know such amazing people. And as ridiculous as they are at times, they've made me realize a lot of things I would've never thought about before." She said smiling with a fond expression.

"_Especially you, Kenma." _She thought as she glanced at him for a second, before looking back ahead like nothing happened.

"Even though I was dragged here against my will, I'm glad I stayed. It's going to be a little lonely going back after all the craziness that's happened or will still happen." She said chuckling at the end of her statement, making Kenma slightly chuckle too. Both of them silently agreeing that even though there was only 2 days before the end of the camp, the lovely occupants of the camp would surely end up doing something one way or another.

"I'm sure the others feel the same about you. I'm glad you came too." Kenma said, and for some reason he couldn't seem to understand, his felt his cheeks burning a little. Thankfully it was dark and his hair was shadowing his face so he didn't have to worry about Kanna taking notice. Unbeknownst to Kenma, his words made a bright smile to bloom on Kanna's face.

"You know, I don't really have anyone to talk to besides Keiji and Kou. And I don't really want to add anymore unnecessary stress on Keiji, as he already has a whole lot to deal with regarding Kou. So I just end up drowning myself in my own thoughts. That's why I genuinely enjoy this. You're really easy to talk to, really attentive too. Thank you for listening to me Kenma. I'm really going to miss this." She finished with a smile his way.

Kenma thought for a second before he held his hand out to her and said "Hmm, give me your phone."

Although a little confused, Kanna still reached into her pocket and placed her phone onto his hands. She watched in curiosity as he tapped on it a few times and then heard a sound come from his pocket, before he handed it back to her.

"There, so you can just talk to me whenever you want to." He said as he reached for his own phone behind him.

Kanna's eyes widened as she stared at her phone, before returning her gaze back to Kenma.

"A—Are you sure? Wouldn't I be a bother? I—I wouldn't want to bother you especially when you're playing your games. A—And besides I might not even have anything to talk about and—" Kanna began to ramble when Kenma cut her off.

"**You would never be a bother. And it doesn't matter if you have nothing to talk about. As long as you want to, I'll always be here to listen.**" He said with a small smile, which earned him a teary eyed gaze from the grateful girl.

Kanna smiled brightly and wiped her eyes, before turning back to look at the moon. They sat in comfortable silence, enjoying the cool night breeze and each other's warmth. Just letting the time pass by.

They must've been sitting for far longer than Kenma realized, because next thing he knew a light weight dropped on his shoulder. He turned his head to see Kanna leaning on him, sleeping peacefully.

_"She really must've been exhausted. I would be too, given just how rigorous each game was. And she played for all three."_

Kenma couldn't help but admire her features as she slept. He'd always known she was beautiful, from the moment Bokuto walked through the gym doors with her in his arms. He didn't need the others telling him to realize that. He wasn't blind, nor was he that ignorant. But as they sat there alone together, he couldn't help himself. She had looked so tired earlier, and yet the moonlight made her look _ethereal_.

He brushed a strand of her hair that fell out of place, behind her ear. He didn't mind the closeness, and sitting there with her. But he figured that if they stayed any longer, they would both catch colds. Which was not good. He didn't have the heart to wake her up, so he did the next best thing he could think of at that moment. He angled himself and proceeded to scoop her up in his arms.

Kenma, admittedly wasn't considered strong. But he wasn't weak either, contrary to popular belief. But he was still surprised with how light she was. Despite not having played volleyball for years, she still had the muscles to prove. So it took him by surprise that he could easily lift her up.

Nevertheless, after adjusting his hold on her, he started walking towards the sleeping quarters. Careful to keep a watchful eye for any sign of Kanna waking up, which he figured wouldn't be anytime soon, with how comfortable she looked. It made him blush seeing how adorable she could be even in her sleep. He didn't make any attempts to hide it though, seeing as there wasn't anyone else present.

He'd arrived at the girls' quarters after taking another flight of stairs. There he stood contemplating whether he should open the door and walk in or not. Clearly remembering the coaches telling them that they weren't even allowed a foot on the floor, but here he was. Seeing as there was no other way he could do this, he decided to just go ahead and get it over with.

He opened the door as quietly as he could, making sure to leave it opened to let some light illuminate the dark room. He scanned the room for any sign of the managers being awake. Feeling satisfied to find that they were all fast asleep, he made his way inside towards the futon on the far left. It was the only one unoccupied so he figured that was hers.

He gently kneeled down and slowly lowered Kanna onto the futon. Once she'd settled down, he covered her with the blanket and started to make his way out. He took one last look at her before he silently shut the door, and started making his descent to his own floor.

He was physically tired, but the earlier events had him thinking. Being with Kanna had made him feel so at ease, and not even Kuroo could make him feel that way. This newfound discovery was still puzzling to him, but he couldn't help but admit that whatever it was, he wouldn't want it to end anytime soon.

* * *

Notes:

***Rejoice! Lovely People!** For my lovely babies are making leaps of progress. I built it up for too long and I know you were all waiting for it so here it is. **FINALLY! ****HOOT! HOOT!**

*Had too much fun writing the chapter that without realizing it, it ended up being a long one. But I'm quite proud of how it turned out. **Hope you enjoy it as much as I do~**

*I would like to thank _**kaylee. dowell96**_, _**OurAria**_, _**vanellie2005**_, _**perseusdiangelo007**_, _**Sonchaeyoung**_, _**zvther**_, _**431252**_, _**genny1095**_, _**KotoriZ**_, _**Thornsilverfox**_ and _**Peony Springs**_ for favoriting and following; _**mvanrensselaer607**_, _**Lyisle Lualdi**_, _**hazelasian19**_, _**Raven-Renae-Lynn**_, _**QueenBxybgurl070**_, _**Aria868**_, _**maniiig**_ and _**girlwhoneversleeps**_ for favoriting, and _**evieballi59**_, _**Cipher1233**_, _**Lyryenn**_, _**waterpheonixdragon**_, _**Vixxkay**_, _**liquid squids**_, _**D41nty**_, _**HoneyGrl**_ and **_onceinabluemooncosmo_** for following after my last post.

*Also thank you for the review dear **Thornsilverfox**. I'm glad that you enjoy it and honored that you described it as _"amazing"_. I hope you continue to enjoy and tune in to it in the future too.

**_Thank You So Much_**


	18. Chapter 18

Training, training and more training. Yesterday had been nothing but, yep well you guessed it, training. And now it's the last day of the training camp.

Despite what happened the day before, with the collapsing and losing consciousness and all that. Kanna still wanted (more like demanded) to help out. And because the coaches didn't have the heart to refuse the kindhearted girl, she was placed on watch by not just the coaches and managers, but even the players as well.

In the early hours of the day, she observed every single practice match and did duties as a manager would do. In the evening, she helped the players that came to her for inputs in their individual practices. The likes of which mainly centered around the always-hungry-to-be-better-trio: _the-ever-enthusiastic-to-improve-his-skills-for-his-team_, Guardian Deity of Karasuno Nishinoya Yuu, _the-constantly-striving-to-sharpen_-_his-skills-nothing-close-to-perfection_, Kageyama Tobio and _the-bearer-of-boundless-energy-and-drive-to-limitlessly-evolve,_ Hinata Shouyo.

Though she also helped with receiving and spiking practice for the others, her help was mostly needed and greatly appreciated by the Karasuno team. Because unlike the other powerhouse schools who have developed a style they are known for, Karasuno who didn't have one, had that much more room to experiment and mature. So Kanna eagerly supported them as they practiced their endeavors, like correcting the timing of their synchronized attack, along with the timing of Nishinoya's set-up jump.

After all the minor flukes and setbacks, finally they were able to connect as one. It was such a beauty to watch, truly an achievement worth noting. Now all that's left is to indulge in some well deserved protein. _Praise the holy meat God!_

The barbeque was a success, as one would've expected. Although there were a few mishaps, like Kageyama almost chocking which thankfully was solved by Akaashi. And then there was the matter of Bokuto stealing a bunch of meat on the grills, which was then solved by a peeved Kuroo. No fights broke out, which the managers were grateful for. All in all it was an enjoyable afternoon of meat and mingling for everybody.

Meanwhile, the Nekoma team was making their way to join their very own pudding head, when something made them stop in their tracks.

They watched as Kanna walked towards Kenma, who was silently sitting at a corner playing games on his phone. As Kanna sat beside him, they almost fell in surprise as they witnessed Kenma put his phone away. They all stood there unmoving, astounded as to what just happened. Being too distracted, they didn't notice the two get up and leave.

Kuroo having noticed his team members staring at nothing with expressions ranging from surprised to utter disbelief, walked up to them with Akaashi and Bokuto following behind him.

"What's with you guys?" Kuroo raised his eyebrow questioningly, once they were standing directly in front of the team, curious as to what was making his teammates make such faces.

"Kenma….." Yamamoto started, but was still too shocked to finish.

"He….. He…" Fukunaga, who rarely spoke, tried to explain but couldn't find the words to.

"stopped his game." Kai finished for them.

Kuroo, Bokuto and Akaashi looked among themselves confused beyond belief.

"What?" Akaashi deadpanned.

"Kenma stopped his game…." Yaku paused before he declared. "….for Kanna-chan."

Once he finished, Kuroo lost his marbles. Bokuto and Akaashi was just staring at him and back at the team trying to understand what was happening, and how it all involved Kanna.

"This can't be happening. Please tell me you're joking."

"That doesn't happen okay. Kenma doesn't ju—."

"Are you sure you weren't just imagining it?"

Kuroo questioned, well rambled. And with his teammates' absentminded nods, he began once again. He was now walking in back and forth with hands in his hair as he continued to mumble incoherent words to himself. Next thing you know the whole Nekoma team was following after their captain.

Bokuto and Akaashi looked at each other in confusion, and they weren't the only ones. With how loud and hysterical the bunch was getting, they would undoubtedly attract attention. The others all gathered around and asked Bokuto and Akaashi what was going on, but they too didn't know. Of course a none-Nekoma team member would never understand just how insane and nearly unimaginable it all was.

As everyone's curiosity grew, so did their impatience. It's been 10 minutes and the Nekoma bunch were still lost in their own world. The rest were starting to get twitchy from all the waiting and the still unanswered question of why they were acting like a bunch of lunatics. If nobody from the distraught team starts explaining soon, pretty sure someone's going to get hurt.

Who could blame them though? Even Nekomata-sensei had this weird expression on his face. If the team's reactions didn't send a red flag, their coach's reaction sure did. Sure enough like a bomb, Bokuto exploded, his patience being shorter than everybody else's, particularly so because it apparently involved his precious baby cousin.

"DUDE! JUST tell us what the heck's wrong already?!" He shouted as he frantically shook Kuroo.

Akaashi and his teammates tried to calm him down, but they couldn't deny that they too were worried given the reactions of the whole Nekoma Team.

Bokuto's frantic shaking and hysterical shouting seemed to snap the rooster-head captain out of his daze, as he stopped rambling and stared straight at Bokuto.

Kuroo looked around, sweat dripping from his forehead as he looked back at Bokuto and swallowed.

"_How the heck am I supposed to explain this to HIM?! There isn't even any other possible way to easily explain this?!"_

"_I mean, I've had my suspicions but I didn't—"_

"…_I haven't even talked to Kenma about this."_

He heaved a heavy sigh before he started.

"Okay look, I'm gonna try my best to explain this so that you'll understand. It might seem a little weird, but bear with me please." Once they nodded he started his explanation.

"Alright, well, you see... Kenma doesn't just _**pause**_, much less _**stop** _playing his game for _**anybody**_. And by that I mean _**nobody**_. Heck! Hardly anyone in the team can make him pause his game. And he'll only ever put his phone or console down when he either finished the game, or died trying to. But _**never**_ in the middle of it." Kuroo finished. He really didn't want to have to say it out loud, so trying his best in explaining was his best bet. And by the looks of most of them, they seem to have an inkling as to where he was going with this.

"And so, I don't understand? How is that a problem?" Came the confused voice of one very concerned and distressed cousin.

Too bad the one person who needed to understand it most, couldn't. Kuroo was extremely conflicted as to what he should do. He tried looking around in hopes of someone, anyone, who could tell him what course of action would be best to take. Instead, all he got were what he assumed to be the same expression he currently had on his face. Completely and utterly frustrated, he turned to the one person who he was sure would know just the right thing to say and how to properly deal with the anomaly that is Bokuto, Akaashi. He silently pleaded with his eyes to save him from the trouble he was currently in.

"Bokuto-san." Akaashi said as he stepped closer to Bokuto and placed a hand on his shoulder. He then leaned in and whispered something to him

Kuroo along with the others bared witness to the gradual changes in Bokuto's facial expressions and body language. They watched as his puzzled expression turned to somewhat akin to understanding before it morphed into one they could no longer decipher. He'd also turned rigid straight that it was starting to make them all uneasy.

Nobody knew what Akaashi had said to Bokuto, and they would never know because said person refuses to tell them. But he didn't have to. They all figured it was the same conclusion that they had all came up on. They just hoped that Bokuto wouldn't do something he would end up regretting one day.

* * *

Notes:

***Hello Lovely People! It's my birthday month, so I was thinking of giving you all two chapters as a gift! I will be posting a second chapter next week, so please stay tuned for that one!**

*I would like to thank _**HarumiMisaki**_, **_PrincessJV_**, _**Foxyning**_, _**CP5TKisa**_ and _**ChurriVongola**_ for favoriting and following; _**Lyryenn**_, _**sailals lensoco**_, **_LADY-P-R-I-S-M_** for favoriting, and _**Tora3**_, _**dallysbear**_, _**Tika098**_, _**Insanity's Haven**_, _**TheWitchWhale**_ and _**froduction**_ for following after my last post.

***Thornsilverfox! My Dear!** **You are godsend! Truly! You made me cry with your comment of "_wishing Kanna was CANON_". **Mainly because I can understand. I've felt the same about some of the stories I've read.** I have never been so touched! This is the greatest praise I could have ever receive in my entire life! **

_**Thank You Very Much~**_**_❤️️_**


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